


Kagome and Sango F*ck the Sengoku Jidai

by ladybattousai



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon Compliant, Comedy, Enthusiastic Consent, Exhibitionism, F/M, Light Bondage, Multiple Partners, Sex Positive, Women In Power
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:07:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 31,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25527160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladybattousai/pseuds/ladybattousai
Summary: Dissatisfied by the sexual opportunities they never had a chance to indulge in before devoting themselves to their experienced partners, Kagome and Sango have one week to do whatever and whoever they want before they commit the rest of their lives to the men they love.
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome/InuYasha, Higurashi Kagome/Kouga, Higurashi Kagome/Sesshoumaru, Kouga/Sango (InuYasha), Miroku/Sango (InuYasha), Sango/Sesshoumaru (InuYasha)
Comments: 120
Kudos: 163





	1. A Difference in Experience

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me when I was struck by how young both Kagome and Sango are when they decided to settle down into their forever relationships. They lived entire lifetimes before they were done being teenagers. So this is an exploration of how that might affect them, especially given that both Inuyasha and Miroku likely had different opportunities.
> 
> Expect updates every couple of weeks while I devote most of my time to the heavier longfic I'm writing.

Chapter One: A Difference in Experience

Kagome moaned.

Through hooded eyes, she gazed down at the unruly crown of white hair as it slipped towards the apex of her parted legs. His hands caressing the outside of her thighs, Inuyasha breathed her in, growling hungrily as he exhaled. Then he kissed the tender flesh of her inner thigh, sending her quivering. Alternating sides and achingly slow, he kissed her more, leaving behind a searing trail as he closed in on her dark mound. The warm puffs of his breath ghosted against her center. His mouth was so close.

She pitched her pelvis towards him, desperate for his tongue. 

And he dodged her easily, giving her a light nip for her efforts. Her grumbling dissatisfaction hitched in her throat.

“Did you want something?” he chuckled, nipping her again, this time closer.

“Oh, it’s not a want,” she replied huskily, and she reached down to massage the ears at the crest of his head. “It’s a need. And I need it now.”

He growled, the sound of it soothing like a purr. “In that case…”

He planted a kiss atop her mound, and then he opened his mouth and slid his tongue between her folds. 

A shuddering sigh escaped her.

Inside, his tongue swished and probed, seeking her clit, and when he found the tiny nub, he gave it a swirling flick.

Letting out a gasp, she rocked against him.

He chuckled again, the sound of it muffled as he nuzzled her close and set to work. Gently, he sucked on her and his tongue played, making her clit its favorite new toy. His hands slid up her body, gliding over her hips and the dip of her waist until they found her breasts. And as he cupped them, he gave each a squeeze before pinching her nipples firmly between his fingers. 

A moan sputtered from her and she arched her back into his hands.

In response, his pinches turned rougher as he fondled and tugged. His mouth captured her clit, pinning it firmly between his lips as his tongue strummed.

Whimpers mewed from her and she started grinding against him, guiding him towards what she wanted most. Somewhere deep in her belly, her core tightened, building in pressure. 

And then his tongue slipped inside her.

Her hips jerked up hard. 

He let a breast go to push her back down and pin her. In and out, he explored her center with his tongue, occasionally returning to her clit as if he was coming up for air. On either side of him, her legs writhed uselessly, evidence that she couldn’t resist his ministrations even if she wanted to.

“I’m ready,” she gasped, her skin glistening with sweat. “I need you to fuck me right now.”

With his ears perked forward, he raised his head until his gold eyes met her blushing cheeks. Then he gave her clit another rough flick. “Is that so?”

Another moan shook her, replying for her as it stole her words.

He smiled devilishly, a fang clipping his lip. Then he gave her mound one last kiss before sitting back onto his knees. Scooting up close between her legs, he slid his fingers along her slick folds, minding his claws as he used her wetness to rouse his half-wakened member. Up and down, he stroked himself with one hand as the other sought out her clit and fingered it teasingly.

“I need you…” she whimpered, the pressure inside her becoming almost unbearable.

“Feh,” he scoffed with a mischievous grin, “So, impatient.” His eyes roamed over her exposed body and reflected the heated desire that coursed through her. Hard and erect, his member stood ready and eager. Like a predator stalking its prey, he crawled forward, his hungry gaze on hers as he positioned himself on top of her. Then he leaned down and captured her mouth with his own. 

She reached up, her arms wrapping around him to pull him close. Their mouths moved together as they ravaged each other. Her tongue slipping against his, she could taste her center on him, and her need reached new levels of desperation. Her knees rose up, pulling at his hips. And she could feel his smile as he devoured her.

Bracing himself above her with one arm, he reached down and grasped his member.

Her breath seized in her chest as he guided it between her folds, letting the tip bounce thirstily against her clit. And then he slid it inside her.

She broke away from their kiss as her breath exploded from her in a loud moan. 

Slowly, he began to rock his hips, and she felt her center stretch with his girth. Plumbing her deeply, he sat back onto his haunches and pushed her knees towards her chest. Then he grasped her breasts and started playing with her nipples.

“How’s that?” he asked, the toned muscles of his abdomen working as he pumped her.

She groaned. “So good.”

“Comfortable?”

“Yes,” she replied, her words slurring. “You?”

A pleased growl rumbled in his throat. “Definitely.”

She smiled. “Good.”

Then another pulse of pleasure stirred inside her and she gave herself over to the pressure that tightened like a coil in her belly. Panting moans heaved her chest, their pace quickening.

“Are you close?” he asked hoarsely, sweat beading on his broad shoulders and across the smooth planes of his chest.

With her eyes closed, she nodded languidly. “Faster. Harder.”

He kissed each knee before bracing himself against her legs. Then his thrusts went hard and deep, his hips slapping against her body. The rhythm hastened as he pumped and red hinted at the sclera of his eyes.

And then the coil that tightened inside her reached its peak and unwound explosively. She cried out as surge of pleasure erupted in her belly and her body convulsed as it rippled through her. With his hands still on her breasts, her nails dug into his forearms as she jerked with release.

Growling through gritted teeth, he continued to drive into her center as it tightened around him. Then a primal groan of ecstasy burst from him as his climax broke and he filled her with his seed. Pumping her several more times, he savored the feeling before collapsing against her legs, his body spent.

Gently, she parted her legs to let him fall limply atop her. Enjoying his weight pressed against her, she hugged him close and inhaled the smell of him, warm and salty.

“That was good,” she whispered.

His ears flicked and he nodded sleepily in agreement.

Smiling with satisfaction, her attention drifted past him to the modest cottage that was their home. Lacking windows, simple oil lamps lit the space in amber light. At the center of the room, a few embers in the firepit still glowed from their midday meal and her gaze drifted upward to the azure sky that peeked through the smoke hole in the ceiling.

“Do you think that maybe next time we can do it somewhere else?” she asked. “Like someplace romantic?”

He grunted quizzically.

“Having sex with you is amazing,” she explained, pecking him with a kiss on the cheek, “But our house isn’t.”

“I don’t understand,” he murmured as he nuzzled her neck. “What’s someplace romantic?”

“I don’t know… Someplace outside? Like a grassy field by a stream. We could bring a futon and maybe pack a picnic.”

A grumble brewed in his throat.

“Or a hot spring,” she continued, excitement cheering her voice. “We wouldn’t even need to bring a futon for that and cleaning up would be so easy. I mean, we’d already be in the water.”

Sighing, he rolled off her body to lay beside her on the futon they shared.

“What?” she asked.

“I like having sex here,” he replied as he gathered his mane above his head to let its damp underside dry out. “I don’t understand what’s wrong with our house.”

“Our house is fine most of the time, but it’s the dumpy place we live at. You’re the main attraction here. I just want a change of scenery. And maybe a little excitement.”

He blew out a breath. “I don’t like having sex outside. I feel too vulnerable and exposed.”

Propping herself up, she turned onto her side to look at him. “But you do everything else outside all the time. You even sleep outside. I don’t understand what the difference is.”

“Feh,” he scoffed. “When I sleep or do anything else outside, I’m always aware of my surroundings on some level. When I have sex, I’m not paying attention to anything but that. Humans might not be everywhere all the time, but youkai are, and I’d rather not be watched. Or interrupted.”

“Who cares if some youkai see us?”

“I do,” he replied, thumbing towards his chest. “Look, I’ve had some bad experiences having sex outside and I don’t want to repeat a lesson that I’ve already learned, all right?”

“Oh… I understand,” she said softly and rolled away from him and onto her back. An unexpected twinge tightened in her chest and before she realized it, her eyes had become glossy.

He sniffed the air lightly. And as he inhaled, his eyes grew wide and he turned over to face her. “Wait, Kagome. What did I say wrong? Was I too harsh?”

“No,” she whispered, afraid to speak louder and have a few tears become something more than that. “I know that you have more experience than me. Sometimes it just catches me off guard. It’s not your fault.”

He sighed and gestured for her. “Come here.”

Letting out a shaky breath, she nodded and then scooted towards him.

When she was touching him, he scooped her in close so that she could rest her head on the dip between his shoulder and chest.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings,” he apologized as he gave her a tender kiss on the crown of her head.

Feeling his warmth and care, she smiled softly. “It’s hard on me that we have this important and satisfying thing that we do together where you’ve already learned what you like and don’t like while I haven’t tried much of anything.”

“I get that, but I don’t know how to fix it,” he explained. “The truth is that you might not like having sex outside either.”

Her brow furrowed. “Yeah, I might not, but what does that have to do with it?”

“Let’s say that we go to a hot spring and try. Well, I know for sure that I won’t like it and you’re not sure if you will like it one way or the other. So, if we don’t even have half a chance of enjoying ourselves, I don’t see why we should do it at all. Not to mention that a lot of what we could do relies on whether or not I can perform given the situation.”

She frowned. “I guess…”

“Are you still upset?”

“I don’t know how I feel,” she admitted with a sigh. “The only thing that I know for certain is that I’m frustrated.”

He pressed another kiss onto her head and rubbed her back. “I know. We’ll talk about it some more, but for right now, we need to clean up and get ready to go over to Miroku and Sango’s house for dinner, okay?”

“…Okay.”


	2. A Walk Through the Village

Chapter Two: A Walk Through the Village

The summertime sun hung low in the western sky, tinting the verdant hillsides and rice paddies in golden hues. Under the reaching boughs of ginkgo and dogwood, Kagome headed down the well-worn path that connected her house to the nearby village. A few steps ahead of her, Inuyasha strolled, his hands tucked comfortably into his sleeves. Every so often his ears flicked in her direction and he slowed a step, but their distance apart remained the same as she kept pace with him.

His ears flicked again, and he stopped to peer back over his shoulder at her.

“All right,” he said, irritation underlying his tone, “I get it. You’re still mad at me.”

“I’m not mad at you,” she sighed, stopping a few steps back, “I’m unhappy about a situation that involves you. There’s a difference.”

“Not really when you’re all quiet and refuse to walk next to me. You might as well be mad at me.”

“If I was just mad at you and not at our situation then I’d just use the s-word until I felt better.”

He plucked at one of the rosary beads that hung around his neck. “Oh, because that’s always the mature way to go. I should’ve demanded to have this thing dispelled as a condition of our marriage.”

Scowling, she crossed her arms.

“Well, go on. Say it.”

Her lips pressed into a thin line.

“I know you want to.”

She shook her head. “I refuse to, because the instant I say it and you hit the ground, you’re going to consider that settling up with how I feel right now. But, I’m sorry. Making you eat dirt won’t actually fix this.”

“Feh!” he scoffed before turning away. Walking at a normal pace, he headed towards the village again.

“And that was a half-assed attempt to get me to say the s-word as a way of getting out of this!” she added as she followed. “Just saying!”

He flashed her an obscene gesture.

She stifled a smile.

The path wound down a final embankment before opening up into the village center. Scattered across a gentle slope, a handful of modest houses surrounded them. They continued to walk downhill, their feet carrying them towards the distant valley patterned with rice paddies. 

Nestled under a thick copse of trees, they came upon a cottage with a pair of twin girls playing out front. Wearing simple kimonos that ended mid-thigh, their skin was marbled in dirt and bruises. Together, they ran back and forth, wielding bamboo swords at each other with unexpected ferocity.

Upon seeing them, Inuyasha’s stride faltered and that moment’s hesitation became his undoing.

Spotting him through a black eye, one of the girls paused mid-strike, her aim at her sister’s head. “Inuyasha.”

Turning to face his direction, the other looked back and grinned menacingly. “Slay the hanyou.”

The first one nodded, her grin growing to match. “Slay the hanyou.”

Inuyasha took a step back. “I thought the kids were staying at Kaede’s house for the night.”

With a cheerful smile, a man in dark blue robes leaned out through the cottage’s doorway. “Sango is still getting the baby ready. She’ll be taking them over soon.”

“Hi Miroku-sama!” Kagome called out effervescently.

“Kagome-sama!” he greeted back with equal enthusiasm. “You look lovely this evening.”

“Thank you!”

“Slay the hanyou,” the girls repeated as they stalked forward, sweeping their swords to the side as though cleansing them of blood. “Slay the hanyou.”

“Oi, Miroku,” Inuyasha shouted, his eyes never wavering from the twins and their chibi-sized bloodlust. “Call off your daughters.”

“Uh, they don’t listen to me,” he replied with his palms up in perfunctory surrender.

“Try,” he growled.

“Girls! Don’t slay the hanyou, please!”

“Slay the hanyou,” they answered back, twirling their swords clumsily.

“I said don’t slay the hanyou.” 

“Slay the hanyou.”

He chuckled dryly in defeat. “See? Nothing.”

“That wasn’t trying,” Inuyasha ground out, and he took another wary step back as the girls entered pouncing distance.

In a flow of her priestess clothing, Kagome walked past him, a sly look on her face.

His eyes widened in horror. “Kagome, wait—" 

“Sit.”

The rosary around his neck ignited in sparkling pink and he struck the ground face first with a resounding thud. Overcome with predatory delight, the girls sprang forward and brought their swords down on him for the killing blow.

“Slay the hanyou!” they giggled maniacally as their volley of thwaps continued, their taste for overkill blossoming into a frenzy. “Slay the hanyou!”

“Wow… Look at them go,” Kagome commented, a sense of awe in her voice.

“Slay the hanyou!”

“I’m pretty sure they get this from their mother’s side,” Miroku added.

“Slay the hanyou!”

With her baby swaddled across her chest and a bag over her shoulder, Sango slid out the doorway past Miroku. Then her jaw dropped in surprise.

“Girls!” she shouted in a tone that drove everyone except a tenderized Inuyasha to stand up straight.

The giggling evaporated and bamboo swords fell, rattling hollowly as they bounced on the ground.

“What did I tell you about slaying Inuyasha?” she scolded with her hands on her hips.

“Only one killing blow each,” they replied.

“That’s right. Now what do you say to him?”

Their expressions sweet and contrite, they knelt beside his head and gently petted his mane of dusty hair. “We’re sorry, Inuyasha-oji-san. Only one killing blow from each of us next time.” Then their grubby hands tugged on his ears as they whispered. “One day these will be ours, like Shippou-onii-san’s tail.”

“All right,” Sango ordered. “Go give your swords to papa. It’s time to go to Kaede-sama’s house.”

“Yes, mama,” they answered dutifully before letting him go. Crouching down, they picked up their swords and carried them to Miroku.

“That wasn’t about making amends,” Kagome admitted to Inuyasha as she eyed him coolly in his crater. “That was just pettiness.”

He spat out a mouthful of dirt. “You think?”

She knelt next to his head and stroked his hair. “I am sorry that they hit you so many times. It was just hypnotic after a while, especially with the chanting.”

“Kagome-chan?” Sango interrupted.

She looked up to find her friend standing beside her, her serious expression replaced by a smile.

“Would you like to come with me to drop off the kids?” she asked.

“I would,” Kagome agreed. “Just give me a moment.” She kissed her fingertips and touched them to the back of Inuyasha’s head where a few lumps had started to form. “I’ll be back in a bit. Don’t let any more children kick your ass while I’m gone.”

“Feh!” he scoffed.

“Houshi-sama,” Sango called out to Miroku. “Finish dinner, please. We’ll be right back.”

He gave her a wink and a nod. Then his attention turned to Inuyasha. “Come inside. It’s safer in here.”

Grumbling in annoyance, Inuyasha dragged himself out of his hole and violently shook the dirt from his clothes, pelting everyone with pebbles and tiny clumps of dirt. He didn’t wait to hear their objections as he stomped into the house.

“Girls, let’s go,” Sango ordered as she dusted off her clothes and checked the baby. “You okay, honey?”

“Slay,” the baby gurgled back.

“We’re good,” she said warmly and kissed him atop his head.

As the twin girls bounded ahead of them in search of witless prey, the two women departed, heading up the hillside towards the village center. With companionable warmth, they shared the events and amusements in the days that had passed since they had last spent any real time together.

“…So, he bilked them out of two extra bales of rice,” Sango concluded and shook her head. “And a horse and cart to carry it all.”

“There wasn’t even a ghost?” Kagome asked.

“Nope,” she replied, “And I couldn’t even make him take any of it back, because I’m pretty sure the feudal lord would have decided to behead him or something.”

Chuckling softly, she stretched back as she walked. “Well, that’s the way he’s always been. Ethically dubious.”

“I always thought the cavalier attitude and opportunistic craftiness was from living with this monstrous thing in his hand that could devour him at any time, but now that the kazaana is gone, I realize it’s really just him.”

“You still love him though.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, smiling to herself, “I only worry that one of his unnecessary schemes will end with him not coming home. Risks like that make sense when you have nothing to lose, but that’s not the case anymore. I don’t think he understands that. And he also doesn’t have a weapon that makes him as invincible as he once was.”

Reaching over, Kagome rubbed her back soothingly. “You’ll both figure it out.”

She shrugged. “I hope so.”

Like an old habit, they absently took the narrower path to the right and followed it up to a familiar cottage. With an overabundance of enthusiasm, the girls raced to its sliding door and banged on it hard enough to rattle it in its track.

“Rin-onee-san!” they yelled and then slid the door open until there was a sliver of a gap. With one crouching and the other standing over her, they peered inside.

“Girls…” Sango warned. “Kaede-sama will get you if she catches you peeping into her house again.”

“No, she won’t,” one replied with a giggle.

“We’re faster than she is,” the other added, grinning.

The door flew down its track and a sturdy, old woman glared at them from the doorway.

“Is that so?” Kaede asked, arching an eyebrow. 

Squealing in surprise, the girls scrambled away.

With a humph, Kaede crossed her arms against her chest.

From behind her, an older girl in a simple yet lovely kimono appeared. Her crooked ponytail swayed as she cheerfully tilted her head to the side and smiled at the girls.

“Rin-onee-san!” they yelled jubilantly upon seeing her. Their fear of Kaede forgotten, they poured forward, colliding with her legs.

“How are you girls doing?” she asked as she gazed down at them, her smile broadening into a grin.

“Good,” they replied. “We slayed-ed Inuyasha today.”

“Oh…” Rin reacted with exaggerated amazement, “Sesshoumaru-sama will be most pleased by this news.”

“Does that mean we get a story tonight?”

“I think so,” she agreed. “Daring taijiyas deserve daring stories, right?”

“Yes!” they cheered. Then they released her to spring away in mock battle.

“I am a great youkai lord,” one declared in a deep voice, “And you have eaten the pickled plum that I was saving for dinner, so you shall die.” She twirled in place and then pointed her finger at her sister. “Poison whip!”

“Ugh, it burns,” the other cried out, convulsing with every strike as the invisible lashing continued. “Mercy!”

“Never!”

Watching the spectacle, Kaede shook her head and frowned.

Sango approached her with a sheepish smile. “Thank you for taking the children every night for the next week, Kaede-sama.”

Her gaze turned to her and she returned her smile with one of her own. “Of course, Sango-chan. They’re a handful but between Rin and I, we’ll be all right.” Her eyes twinkled when she spotted the baby. “Besides, this little one makes it all worth it.”

“Slay,” the baby gurgled.

Her smile sobered a bit. “Well, for now he does.”

“And Miroku, he—” Sango began.

Kaede nodded. “He dropped off two bales of rice as an expression of gratitude and gave the horse and cart to that poor family who just lost their son. So, don’t worry. You both have been more than generous.”

Sango sighed. “Good.”

“You dared to track mud into my house?” one of the girls shouted. “Face Tokijin, you cur!”

“I’m on fire!” the other screamed in agony as she slowly crumpled onto the ground. “Everything’s on fire! Oh, why didn’t I wash my feet?!”

Both women watched as the girl’s protracted wailing ended in a raspy death knell.

“You’re sure that this is fine?” Sango asked. “It’s all right if you want to back out. You can even keep the rice if you want.”

“They’re only staying here at night, so that you and Miroku have some alone time.” In a shooing motion, Kaede flicked her hands at her. “Stop worrying and go enjoy your evening.”

“All right,” she conceded, and undid the sling that anchored the baby to her chest. With care, she handed him to her along with the bag. “Thank you.”

“Not a problem, dear.” Then she spotted Kagome. “Oh, Kagome-chan!”

“I didn’t want to interrupt,” Kagome replied shyly.

“Well, you both have a wonderful dinner and a goodnight,” Kaede said warmly, “And Sango-chan, don’t worry.”

Departing with a bow, the ladies left, heading back down the hillside towards Sango’s home. The bright amber light of the golden hour lit their way and when they were just out of earshot of Kaede’s home, Sango let out the loudest sigh.

“Finally,” she groaned, and she rolled her shoulders as if she had personally dropped off the two bales of rice herself. “I’m free.”

Kagome chuckled.

“I love Shippou-chan,” Sango admitted as she breathed in the warm summertime evening, “But never as much as when he leaves for his fox training, because that’s when I miss him the most. I don’t think Miroku and I have had a moment to ourselves for almost a month. I always underestimate that little kitsune’s ability to entertain the troops. So, just having a week right now where we can enjoy our evenings together is going to be bliss.”

“Are you both going to work on number four then?” she joked.

“Fuck that,” she blurted out, “I know I promised Miroku a ton of kids, but when I agreed to that I hadn’t given birth to twins and then had another baby less than two years afterwards. I have a whole lot more respect for birth spacing now. Jinenji’s mother is my hero with that daily tea blend she sells.”

“Truly,” she laughed.

“What about you and Inuyasha?”

“Oh, I’m definitely not ready yet…”

Sango rolled her eyes. “No, not that. What’s going on with you and Inuyasha? That crater in front of my house means you said the magic word and flattened him into the ground. Then you let my daughters finish the job.”

“Ugh, I know,” Kagome sighed, shame tinting her cheeks. “I’m frustrated about our relationship and when he wasn’t as mad about it as I was, I decided to be petty. It was mean of me, especially after I told him I wouldn't say it. I’m going to try and make it up to him later. Though I can’t say that I feel any regret yet.”

“Why are you frustrated? I thought you both were happy together?”

“It’s about sex.”

Sango raised an eyebrow. “Last I checked you couldn’t stop talking about how great sex was with him.”

“I mean it’s still great,” she admitted as her blush darkened. “He always makes sure that I’m comfortable and satisfied. But I’m realizing now that how we do things isn’t enough.”

“It’s sex, Kagome-chan. It’s not complicated.”

“Argh, I’m explaining this all wrong,” she growled as she searched for the right words. “It’s about sex and it isn’t. It’s hard to describe.”

Sango stared at her quizzically.

“Look, he’s the first man I’ve ever been with but I’m definitely not the first woman for him. And honestly, I don’t care about those other women. I’m the one who’s here. Not them. What matters to me is that he’s had the opportunity to try things. To explore and experiment with what he likes or doesn’t like. He had experience before being with me, but I didn’t get that chance before I committed to him.”

“Ah…”

“Do you ever think about that when it comes to Miroku?”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on, Sango-chan,” Kagome prodded, “The guy spent years asking every girl of marriageable age if she’d bear his child. Have to wonder if there are any little, violet-eyed children running around out in the world, their mothers wistful for that handsome monk that blew through town and robbed their village elder of all his valuables.”

With her mouth fixed into a scowl, Sango glared at her. “Kagome-chan, just because you’re unhappy…”

“Sorry! Sorry!” she apologized. “You’re absolutely right. I pushed the line.”

Sango sighed. “It’s all right. I get what you’re saying. I just try not to think about it. Like you said, I’m the one who’s here and not them.”

Smiling softly, Kagome placed her hand on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

Sango reached up and covered her hand with her own, returning her affection with a gentle squeeze back. “Let’s go see if the boys have dinner ready yet.”


	3. An Awkward Dinner

Chapter Three: An Awkward Dinner

The last vestiges of sunlight waned from the sky until there was nothing but the infinite black and the sparkling wonder of the galactic cloud that painted it. Under the faint starlight, Kagome and Sango reached the village’s edge. It was a familiar path, so much so that on cloudy, moonless nights, they could still find their way without a lantern.

As they neared Sango’s home, they spied the welcoming glow of burning oil lamps emanating from the doorway, a beacon of warmth that cast the yard in amber light. Inside, a mirthful chuckle matched the atmosphere and the women smiled.

Together, they approached the house.

“And there was no ghost?” Inuyasha asked dryly, his chin resting on his palm as he sat cross-legged beside the hearth.

“None!” Miroku confirmed cheerfully. He leaned forward to give the pot of bubbling curry a stir and pulled the iron kettle off the fire. “One of the screen doors in the princess’s bedroom wasn’t aligned with its track, so it rattled in the wind.”

“Ah.”

“Realizing that, I put on a big show of how dangerous it was and sent them away. Once they were gone, I applied a few paper seals and fixed the track. The lord was so grateful that I persuaded him to throw in a couple extra bales of rice and a cart to haul it with.”

He picked at his nose with a claw. “It’s what he deserves for not checking the door.”

“Right? It seems like lords are either overly superstitious and everything is a threat or they’re pompous enough to ignore the real thing, then before they know it, a princess is possessed.” He tapped his temple. “But no matter what, it’s more money in my pocket.”

“I suppose.” Hooking a pebbly booger, he curled his finger under his thumb like a readied catapult.

“Inuyasha!” Kagome shouted, “You better not flick that booger in here!”

Sputtering in surprise, his chin slipped off his palm and his arms wind-milled as he tried to keep from falling face first into the hearth. After nearly kissing the pot, he regained his balance.

“Why’d you yell at me?” he growled.

“You can’t flick boogers in the house,” she explained before pointing towards the door. “Outside with it!”

“Feh!” he scoffed and rose to his feet. Thumping across the wood floor, he walked into the doorway and flicked his fingers. “Happy?”

With her lips screwed up into a scowl, she glared at him.

“What?”

“Now, now,” Miroku soothed and he reached for a covered bamboo container. “Let’s all calm down. We haven’t had a meal together in a few weeks and it’s been even longer since it was just the four of us. Let’s try and enjoy it.”

“Fine!” Kagome snapped as she took a seat.

“Feh!” Inuyasha added as he did the same on the opposite side of the hearth.

Miroku glanced at Sango.

She shrugged.

“Well then,” he said with a light chuckle. “Let’s eat.”

Fragrant steam billowed as he removed the cover from the container, revealing a bed of rice. Using a paddle, he meted out a hearty portion into a bowl and handed it to Sango. Taking the ladle, she stirred the curry, sending chunks of potato, vegetable, and pork bobbing. Then she scooped some up and poured it over the rice. One-by-one, they prepared the bowls and distributed them until everyone had their serving. And with a word of thanks, they began to eat.

The sound of quiet chewing permeated the air.

Miroku cleared his throat. “So, how’s Kaede-sama doing?”

“Good,” Sango replied, covering her hand over her mouth as she spoke. “She, uh, appreciates the rice you delivered earlier.”

“That’s great.”

She took a sip of water from her bamboo canteen.

“Were the girls okay when you dropped them off?” he asked.

She waved her chopsticks dismissively. “Rin was there, so they were immediately excited. I’m sure they’re going to come back with a few new stories, although I’m a little concerned about them idolizing a youkai lord.”

“I’m sure it’s just a phase.”

“Probably.”

Picking up the iron kettle, he poured hot water into a ceramic teapot.

“Oh, some tea sounds nice—”

Kagome sighed. “I’m sorry.”

Miroku and Sango paused to look at her.

“I’m so sorry,” she continued. “We ruined your dinner. After finally having some time to spend together, we made a mess of it.”

“We ruined dinner?” Inuyasha asked brusquely. “We made a mess of it?” He pointed his chopsticks at her. “I’m not the one who came over here with the bad attitude and then spread it around. You did that. Don’t drag me into it.”

“And whose fault is it that I have a bad attitude?” she asked with renewed anger tinting her cheeks.

“Not me, that’s for sure. As you put it, you’re mad at a situation, remember? If you take it out on me and everyone else, that’s your fault.”

Her eyes narrowed and a word of subjugation perched at the tip of her tongue.

“If you say it,” he sneered, tapping a rosary bead with his claw. “If you say it, you’ll prove my point. So, go on ahead and do it. I like being right even if it hurts.”

She glowered at him, but her mouth pressed shut.

He snorted indignantly and then shoveled a mouthful of curry into his mouth. “Thought so.”

The hearth fire crackled, its smoke floating upwards through the hole in the ceiling.

Miroku looked to Sango.

She shook her head.

“So, Kagome-sama…” he began to ask as he poured the brewed tea into a set of cups.

“Let’s not—" Sango interjected.

“…What’s this situation that has upset you?”

Kagome looked at him with a guarded smile. “Thank you for asking, Miroku-sama. In a way, this involves you, too. Because Sango is in the same situation as me.”

“Kagome-chan…” Sango grumbled.

“No, no,” he assured as he passed out the steaming cups, “Let’s hear it. I wouldn’t want to be considered insensitive like a certain other person here.”

“Feh!” Inuyasha scoffed.

He brought his cup to his lips. “Go on, Kagome-sama.”

She nodded. “I’m frustrated by the fact that both you and Inuyasha got to have sex with all kinds of people before committing to relationships with us, but Sango and I didn’t have the same chance.”

A spray of green tea erupted from Miroku’s mouth, splattering across Inuyasha’s face.

“For different reasons,” she continued, “With Inuyasha having a hanyou’s prolonged life span and you becoming sexually active early, you’ve both had opportunities to explore your sexuality and preferences with many partners. That wasn’t the case for us and honestly, it’s unfair.”

As Sango pinched the bridge of her nose, she held out a towel in Inuyasha’s direction. “I didn’t want to be dragged into this…”

Inuyasha snatched up the towel and growled. “This is all because I don’t want to have sex outside?”

Miroku chuckled softly. “I’m so thankful that the children are at Kaede-sama’s house this evening. They are much too young for the talk.”

“This isn’t funny,” he snapped.

“But it is,” he insisted as he refilled his cup of tea, “The only time I get Sango to myself is when the children are gone. Oh, those brief, glorious days where sex outside could have been an option. Not that we did anything that exciting.”

“Houshi-sama!” Sango blurted out, her face turning a rosy shade of pink.

“I’m defending you,” he explained, waving a hand dismissively. “Sex is sex. If both partners reach a climax and are therefore satisfied, who cares? You never want anything more than that and as Kagome has deduced, I’ve participated in plenty of exploration.”

“How much exploration?”

“Well…” he mused, tapping his lips with his finger, “The last time was sometime before the final battle with Naraku.”

Flipping a chopstick up, she plucked it out the air and gripped it like a dagger. “Really?”

A bead of sweat trickled down his brow. “Sango, please. It was before things were remotely serious between us. We weren’t in love yet. Just flirting occasionally.”

“See!” Kagome exclaimed, shaking her finger. “That’s it right there. You, and especially Inuyasha, were already living as adults while we were still under the care of our families.”

“Why are you singling me out?” Inuyasha objected as he toweled off his front. “I’m pretty sure Miroku has done more than me.”

“Does Kikyou ring a bell?”

“I didn’t do anything with Kikyou,” he muttered under his breath. “I just kissed her.”

“And before her?”

He rested his chin on his palm and looked away.

She shook her head. “You’ve lived as an unfettered adult for decades, but Sango and I, we lived that same lifetime inside of a year during our quest to reclaim the Shikon-no-Tama and defeat Naraku. We’ve been through so much. We’ve lost family and friends, but with you both, we also found our soul mates, too. We became adults in committed relationships before we could discover what we actually wanted.”

He spied at her from the corner of his eye, then sighed. “Fine, if you want to fuck outside, we can fuck outside.”

She crossed her arms against her chest. “Well, for one, you’ve already stated that you don’t want to, and you were right when you said that if you’re not into it, it won’t be fun and probably not worth doing. But really, that particular sexual restriction is only the beginning. For instance, you’ll go down on me, yet you won’t let me do the same for you. Why?”

“Ka-Kagome,” he stuttered, his cheeks turning nuclear hot.

“And you never let me pick positions either.”

“Stop it! That’s private!”

Miroku chuckled. “I’m also thankful that Shippou isn’t here either. He’s much too young for this talk.”

Kagome sighed. “Secondly, I realize now that this is about more than sex. It’s about getting a piece of that adulthood we missed out on. It’s about going out and exploring a bit.”

“So,” Inuyasha asked hesitantly as he poked at a grain of rice in his bowl with a claw, “Does this mean that you don’t want to be married to me anymore?”

She looked at him, her expression exuding warmth. “Of course not. I love you and I want to be with you. But I also want to indulge in a part of my adulthood that I missed out on. An experience that I didn’t know that I needed.”

“I have an idea,” Miroku chimed in as he sipped his tea.

They looked at him expectantly.

“How about we switch partners? Sango, you can have passable sex with someone who’s not me, Inuyasha. And Kagome, we can do all the fun things that you’re curious about.” 

“No!” they refused in unison.

“Worth asking,” he sighed and took another sip.

“Your idea was terrible,” Kagome said, pursing her lips,” But I think that it’s on the right track. How long are the kids spending the night at Kaede-sama’s house?”

“A week,” Sango replied.

“How about starting tomorrow, Sango and I are granted the freedom to go out and do whatever we please as single women until the babysitting is over?”

“You both are going to leave town?” Miroku asked.

“Yep, we’re going to go on an adventure, and I think that you guys can handle the kids during the day if Kaede-sama looks after them at night.”

“I don’t know about this,” Sango objected.

Kagome smiled at her, then leaned over to give her a reassuring pat. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. And honestly, I can’t say that we’ll end up doing anything exciting, but at least come along to keep me company on this girls-only adventure.”

“It’s fine by me,” Miroku assured. “I can see how this might be good for both of you. Having this experience on your terms.”

She regarded each of them for a moment, then nodded. “All right.”

Slowly, their attention gravitated towards Inuyasha.

Pitching his head back, he finished his cup of tea. “What?”

“Well?” Kagome asked. “Are you okay with the plan? If you’re not, we’ll think of something else.”

He frowned thoughtfully. “One week and we never have to have this argument again? The subject is done and buried? No more complaining or abusing the word?”

She sighed. “Yes.”

“Swear to it?”

“I swear.”

He shrugged. “Then it’s fine with me, too.”


	4. A Lesson in Packing

Chapter Four: A Lesson in Packing

“Kagome-chan, what’s taking so long?” Sango asked.

The early morning light framed her in silhouette as she stood in the doorway of the cottage and looked inside. There she watched Kagome, half-dressed and disheveled, as she sorted through a disarray of chests. Beside her sat a canvas bag, plump and overflowing with clothes and supplies.

“You’re never going to be able to carry that,” Sango added coolly, covering her smirk.

“I know!” Kagome snapped as she tried to draw the ties close on the bag. “Inuyasha already told me that, so I know!”

“But you’re still trying?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Growling with frustration, she dumped the bag out onto the floor and began sorting through its contents. “Look, I don’t need you giving me a hard time, too. I’m trying to figure this out.”

With her palms out in surrender, she held up her hands. “No need to get angry. I’m not judging you.”

Kagome’s flustered attempt to organize came to a stop and she eyed her critically.

“All right,” Sango confessed with a nervous laugh, “I’m judging you a little bit. But not in a bad way. It’s all just kind of… comical.”

“Comical?”

“Comical.”

Kagome groaned and sat back, looking at the mess. “How did this happen? I thought I knew how to pack. I did it for years.”

“Kagome-chan,” Sango soothed. “You never learned how to pack. Before today, you could take half a house with you on a journey because you either had that strange bicycle or Inuyasha to carry the load. It’s a little different when it’s just… you.”

Pouting, Kagome spied the familiar, old bag Sango had slung across her back, its volume half full at most. Then she sighed. “I guess maybe you’re right.”

“It’s okay. This is your chance to learn.” 

“In that case, can you give me some advice then?”

“Of course,” she replied with a kind smile and she shed her sandals in the entryway. Within a few steps, she was leaning over Kagome’s shoulder with her hands resting on her knees as she pored over the chaos. She gestured to a pile of wrapped dry goods. “You’re a priestess. There’s no reason for you to bring so much food. Townspeople will feed us for free.”

“But I’m not going as a priestess,” she objected.

“I suppose your plan would be a bit unseemly for a priestess.”

“That’s not why,” she groused, her cheeks turning pink. “Well, mostly not why. My religious duties and role in the community are a part of this, too. I need a week off from being everything but Kagome.”

Sango blinked.

“What?”

“I guess I didn’t realize how deep your feelings went.”

Kagome frowned, her eyes settling on the dry goods. Then she nodded. “I’ll bring my bow at the very least. Between us, we have a bit of money and we can earn some more exorcising or youkai exterminating if needed. Worst case, I’ll hunt enough small game to keep us fed.” She looked up, satisfied. “What else can go?”

Sango watched her for a moment and then her attention returned to the mess. “You don’t need all these robes and coats either. One spare change of clothes and nothing more.”

“But what if we end up staying some place?”

“They will provide if it matters that much.”

“But what about the weather?”

“It’s the summer. It’ll be hot and humid. That’s it. If a thunderstorm happens to rumble through, we’ll stay out of it, either by taking shelter or buying what we need if absolutely necessary.”

Kagome opened her mouth, another objection at the tip of her tongue.

“One change of clothes,” Sango interjected, her tone stern.

“Fine,” she huffed and stuffed a thin coat and long skirt into the bag. “Is there anything else?”

Humming thoughtfully, Sango scanned through the rest of her strewn belongings and nodded. “You can bring your medicines since that’s your trade, whether or not you’re in your priestess robes. Just don’t get carried away. Add your hygiene supplies and you should be done.”

After gathering her medicinal treatments together, Kagome sorted through them, storing that which was easily found or substituted back in its chest. The other vetoed items followed, each returned to their spot until all that remained was a lightly packed travel bag, its ties drawn easily close with a neat bow.

Sango smiled at her. “All done.”

“Is this really all that I need?” Kagome asked anxiously, feeling the weight of the bag. “What if we’re hungry and I can’t find any game? Or if we’re rejected from a town because we look like vagabonds?”

Reaching over, she touched her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “What’s going on? It’s unlike you to be this worried. When we were hunting Naraku and played everything by ear, you were never bothered by the lack of a plan. Or how we looked.”

She sighed. “Having this week of freedom, it’s asking a lot from both Inuyasha and Miroku. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I also don’t feel any hesitation about going. I need this and while I don’t think you know it yet, you need this, too. It’s just that…”

“It’s only a week. One shot.”

“Yeah,” she replied with a nod. “I’m worried that if I don’t get everything perfect from the beginning, I might miss whatever it is that I’m looking for. Then the week will be wasted, and I’ll be back where I started.” She snorted. “I mean, we’ll be back where we started and none of it will have meant anything.”

“It already means something,” Sango assured, and she stepped around Kagome until she was standing in front of her, her hand extended forward for her to take. “None of it will be wasted even if we spend the entire time stuck in some remote village because a weeklong thunderstorm rolled in. Because we’ll be together, relying on each other without anyone else to rescue us. Believe me, that alone will make it worth it.”

Kagome smiled and took her hand. Feeling the tension in her friend’s arm as she braced herself, she borrowed Sango’s strength and stood up. 

Their shared smiles broadened into grins as they met eye-to-eye. 

“And who says we need rescue from the guys when they’re around anyway?” Kagome added with a wink before stooping down to scoop up her bag and sling it across her back.

“Exactly!” Sango replied. “They do more interfering than rescuing in my opinion. Escalate matters. Then the next thing you know half the village is a pile of wood splinters and drenched in youkai gore.”

Finding her quiver hanging on a hook by the doorframe, she strapped it to her back beside the bag. Her unstrung bow followed. When everything was secured in place, she turned back to Sango. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For helping me pack. And for joining me on this adventure. I don’t think I would have had the nerve to do it without you coming with me.”

Sango smirked. “I think on some level that you’re right. That this will be good for me. I haven’t left the village in the last four years except to go to Jinenji’s house and most of the time I ask you to go for me. I was in a rut and I hadn’t even realized it.”

“Well, we haven’t started the rutting yet,” Kagome chuckled.

She gave her an oblique look. “I’m not sold on that part and don’t expect my position to change.”

“Trust me, I know and understand. I’m only teasing you. And to that point, what position are we talking about here? Missionary? Doggy-style? On top?”

Sango groaned. “This is going to be a long week.”

Kagome laughed. “Probably.”

“Well, at the very least, I’ll be there to make sure that whatever you get up to is your choice and in a safe place. And if anyone gets the wrong idea, Hiraikotsu will educate them on what the right decision should have been.”

She snorted. “The Sengoku Jidai won’t know what hit it and if it does, it won’t remember it for long.”

“That’s for sure,” Sango agreed, then nodded towards the doorway. “Shall we go say goodbye to the men and head out?”

She beamed. “Yes, let’s go.”

OOOOOOOOOO

Side-by-side, the two women made their way through the village. Together, they inhaled the warm aroma of rice porridge that wafted through the air. The swishing of sliding doors followed as the quiet community stirred, its farmers preparing for another peaceful day tending to their paddies. The women waved to them as they passed, their feet taking them along the same route down towards the valley. But as they reached the outskirts of the village, their paths diverged, and the women headed for a side trail.

Up ahead and nestled against a copse of trees, they spied Sango’s house. Hiraikotsu, a massive boomerang crafted from composite bone and carapace, leaned against the wall just outside the doorway, glinting white in the sunlight. Beside it, their husbands chatted.

“Look,” Miroku persuaded, his tone effusing confidence, “I just want to try out these new paper seals and determine their effectiveness at subduing higher level youkai. They’re a rather innovative in their enchantment, so if I field test them first and they’re unreliable—"

“No,” Inuyasha interrupted him, his arms crossed against his chest.

“I understand your concern. You should know that your safety is of the utmost importance to me. However, considering your admirable strength and fortitude, I doubt—”

“No.”

“And really, the chances that they will purify are very low. Maybe a little bit of a sting, but beyond that—”

“No.”

“Besides, you’re wearing firerat fur. I’m sure the burning will be at a minimum.”

“Houshi-sama,” Sango called out sternly, “No experimenting on Inuyasha. …Or accidentally purifying him.”

“My love,” he replied back, giving her a winning smile, “I wouldn’t dream of doing the second part.”

As she approached, she considered him skeptically and then gave him a peck on the cheek. “Somehow, I have my doubts.”

He shrugged noncommittally. “Paper seals are essential to our livelihood. They’re my best tool for driving out or exterminating youkai.”

Inuyasha uncrossed his arms to point an accusing finger at him. “Feh! That’s because your only other weapon is your dinky staff.”

Miroku brightened. “So, now that you’ve realized that, then you’ll agree to help me test these new seals?”

A series of flustered sounds bubbled from him. “No!”

“Could have sworn you were offering…”

“Miroku-sama,” Kagome piped up, “If the intent behind these experiments is avoiding a field test where they come up short against a dangerous youkai, then tell me how a charred and disgruntled Inuyasha is a different outcome?”

Frowning in reply, he eyed Inuyasha.

The hanyou glared back at him.

“That’s a good point.”

“Thank you,” she said coolly. “I try.”

His expression softening to a light scowl, Inuyasha turned towards her, his gaze drawn to the bag strapped against her back. “Oh, you finished packing and you didn’t cram everything you own into the bag. I’m impressed.”

“Is that sarcasm?” she asked pertly, her eyes narrowing as she regarded him.

“Not if I mean it.”

With her lips pursed, she watched him for a moment. Then she smiled and leaned in to give him a kiss. “Thank you for the compliment.”

She could feel his customary objection rumbling in his throat fade as he started to move his lips against hers. Smirking, she pulled away and finished their kiss with a gentle peck.

Miroku looked at Sango. “Why didn’t I get a kiss like that?”

She sighed and reached over to hoist Hiraikotsu onto her back.

“It’s because we ended up with twins, isn’t it?”

As she secured the weapon onto its harness, she shook her head, but her lips betrayed her with a wry smile.

“In all seriousness though,” Miroku continued, changing subjects as he fixed a strap that had become tangled on Sango’s back. “Do you have everything that you need? With you both deciding to do this last night, there hasn’t been a lot of time to plan.”

“We’ll be fine,” Kagome assured, thrusting her chin out. “Whatever comes up, we’ll figure it out.”

He looked to Sango. “Did you pack the journal?”

Rosiness flushed her cheeks. “Yes.”

His expression turned sly. “I want all the details.”

“You’re assuming that I’ll have a reason to write anything down.”

He shrugged. “Doesn’t hurt to be prepared. And it’s my only requirement for this adventure.”

“I know.”

“Every detail. Any visual aids would also be appreciated.”

Her blush brightened.

Inuyasha eyed them warily, his mouth slightly agape, a question forming on his tongue.

“Are you sure that you’re all right with this?” Kagome asked him.

He blinked, his train of thought interrupted. “What?”

“With us going. Well, with me going mostly. I know that I’m asking a lot of you to let me have this week of freedom. I realize that it’s not a conventional request. It’s just something that I need to do.”

He reached up, cupping her jaw, and stroked her cheek with his thumb. “That’s all right, because you’re not a conventional woman.”

She nuzzled his hand and gave his palm a kiss. “Thank you.”

Nodding in acknowledgment, he pulled her close for a hug. “Be safe.”

“I will.”

“And… And come back.”

She squeezed him tighter. “I will.”

When he finally let her go, she discovered Sango and Miroku finishing their embrace. She smiled at her friend. “Are you ready?”

“I think so.”

“See you both in a week,” Miroku said, waving his hand.

“Make sure that you go pick up the children right away,” Sango told him.

“We will,” he assured with a chuckle.

“And don’t let the girls stay up late.”

“Don’t worry.”

“And make sure that they don’t hunt our neighbors’ dogs, Inuyasha included.”

“Not a problem.”

“Come on, Sango-chan,” Kagome soothed, taking her arm in her own. “They’ll be fine.”

She nodded. Then together, they headed back down the trail towards the valley and the main road. Inuyasha and Miroku remained where they were, watching them as they walked, their dark hair shining in the summertime sun.

“Are you sure that this was a good idea?” Inuyasha asked, his gaze fixed on the women until they disappeared below the rise.

Miroku smiled sadly. “Sango hasn’t really been the same since we married and if she needs a week to find out what’s changed or what she needs, then she deserves it. Kagome was right when she said that we’ve all been through an entire lifetime of experiences before becoming adults. So, I can see how the aftermath of that isn’t something that can be ignored. And I have a feeling that the consequences of pretending that it’s not a big deal will be far worse down the line than letting them have a week of freedom to sort themselves out.”

“Still…”

“Well, if it helps you feel better, they had almost no time to plan their little adventure. I’m reasonably certain that they haven’t even picked a destination yet. And with a limit of one week, including travel time, chances are in our favor that they won’t find anyone to get in bed with.” A self-satisfied smile spread across his lips. “And worst case, they find some unknown lord or prince to entertain them for a few days and we never have to hear about it again.”


	5. An Unconventional Loss of Maidenheads

Chapter Five: An Unconventional Loss of Maidenheads

Sango sighed. “Kagome-chan, where are we going?”

With her arms crossed against her chest, she waited on a dirt road, her sandaled feet caked with dust and her cheeks rosy from the late-morning sun. Ahead of her, Kagome stood at a crossroads, tapping a finger against her lips.

“Kagome-chan…”

“I know,” she replied, her tone harsher than she intended. “I’m thinking.”

“Thinking?” Sango asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, I’m thinking.”

Another sigh escaped her, and she wiped at the sweat that beaded on her neck with her sleeve. “If you’re going to think and not walk, then maybe we can do this under the shade of a tree.”

“If we leave the road to do that, then I’m going to overthink where we’re going. I want this adventure to be fresh and spontaneous. I’m sure that if I stare at our three options long enough, the right one will reveal itself to me.”

Sango eyed her skeptically. “I’ve never seen anyone who simultaneously wants the freedom of having no plan and yet wants a plan to manifest.”

A protracted groan grumbled from Kagome as she sank down into a crouch, her hands propping up her chin. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“That much is obvious,” Sango chided as she took a swig of water from her canteen.

“I want a plan, but I don’t want a plan. Even if we’re being genuinely spontaneous, it still means that every decision has a consequence. If we go east, then we miss out on any adventures that are to the north or to the west.”

“Very true.”

“What if the best and most satisfying adventure is to the north, but we went west and end up planting rice in some nowhere village for a week?”

“Then we’ll be very good at planting rice.”

Kagome blew out a breath. “I don’t want to be good at planting rice. I want to have fun.”

“What if,” Sango began, tucking her canteen back into her bag, “By waiting too long to choose to go west, we fail to save a gorgeous prince from some bandits and thereby miss out on a week of him spoiling us with lavish parties as an expression of his gratitude?”

“Ugh… You’re not helping.”

She laughed. “Wasn’t trying to.”

She spied back at her, scowling. “I can tell.”

“Look,” Sango soothed, “We talked about this earlier. We’re going to have fun no matter what happens. So, let’s go west. Or east. Or north. We’ll make the most of anything that comes our way. But if we waste any more time being indecisive, then we’ll really regret it, because that’s time we won’t get back.”

“I guess, Kagome sighed. Then her expression brightened, and she climbed to her feet. “Oh, we’re definitely going west.”

“Thank goodness,” she whispered under her breath.

“Did you bring the special tea that helps with your birth spacing?”

“Umm…” Sango mumbled, and she looked up as she thought back. “I think I forgot it.”

“Then that settles it for sure. We’re going west.”

Shading her brow with her hand, she scanned the foothills, their slopes rippling with grass. “Why? What’s to the west?”

“Jinenji’s house.”

“Oh, Kagome-chan,” she protested, her attention turning to her smirking friend. “I made it clear. You can do whatever you like, but I’m not interested—"

“I know, I know,” she said, waving her hands in a placating manner, “But you’re the one who brought up regrets and while there’s no pressure, there’s also no taking anything completely off the table this week either.” Then she pointed her finger at her reproachfully. “Besides you’re supposed to take that tea every day. If you’re off it a week, Miroku is totally going to knock you up when we get back home.”

Sango sighed deeply. “Fine. Let’s go to Jinenji’s house.”

“Good,” she replied as she headed westward, “And maybe we’ll get some leads on making a little traveling money while we’re there.” She shook her sleeve and a faint jangle rang out. “We barely have two coins to rub together.”

“Times have been a bit thin,” she confessed. “It’s hard to make a living in a farming community when you’re not a farmer.”

“Wouldn’t it be great though if we came back with more money than we left with?” Kagome joked. “Prove that men aren’t the only ones who can provide.”

“Maybe…”

The sun climbed higher as the women walked, reaching its zenith and bringing with it the sweltering humidity typical of the season. But as they plodded along under the relentless sun, their reprieve came. First as a refreshing afternoon breeze which caressed their glistening skin and sent them shivering, and then as a pair of conical hats that they had wrangled from a passing vendor. 

With its strap secured over her chin, Kagome spied out from under the shade of her hat at a far-off vale split by a ribbon of river and the endless patchwork of rice paddies. A good distance from the nearest village, she spotted a lone cottage nestled amid neat rows, each one overflowing with herbs and other leafy crops.

“We’re almost there,” she half-mumbled, her voice cracking as she broke their heat-driven silence. “And they have the best water well, too.”

Sango nodded before reaching for her canteen and chugging down until it was nearly empty.

A raspy chuckle erupted from Kagome as she watched her.

“What’s so funny?” she asked, swiping at a trickle that dripped down her chin with the back of her hand.

“The way you over-rationed your water,” she replied, her flushing red cheeks making her toothy grin brighter. “Or how we forgot to bring hats.”

“What about it?”

“I don’t know… It’s like we’re doing all this for the first time.”

Pushing her lip out, Sango pouted. “I’m just a little rustier at this than I thought…”

“It’s not a bad thing,” Kagome quickly amended, giving her friend a dusty pat on the shoulder. “I think it’s good actually. Like an honest reset.”

“If you say so.”

“We’re rediscovering what it means to travel,” she persuaded. “We haven’t done anything like this in so long that our bodies barely remember it. Now it’s fresh. New. But comfortable, too. Nostalgic.”

“Is this what you were looking for?”

“Maybe,” she shrugged and began to head down the road towards the vale. Her sandal met a stone and she gave it a light kick. It bounced across the ruts, landing in a thin patch of grass. When she caught up to it, she sent it tumbling again. “It’s hard to place when you come from a different world where the universe moves faster and feels smaller. Where you can try something new for the first time every day. When at my age your whole life is ahead of you rather than almost half spent.”

Following behind her, Sango laughed. “Are you saying that we’re boring?”

The stone skipped along. 

“Well, I guess it’s not as exciting as it used to be.” 

“Because no one’s tried to kill you for months?”

“It’s not that,” Kagome replied, rolling her eyes. “I don’t need that type of excitement. I just want a taste of the same freedom that our guys got. I want to take control and introduce a little novelty into my life.”

“In that case, when was the last time you did anything for the first time?”

Her sandal struck the stone clumsily and it spun off, disappearing into a field thick with ripened wheat.

“The last time I did anything for the first time?” she repeated.

Sango nodded.

Her cheeks puffed out as she thought. Then a dark chuckle burst from her.

“What?”

“I can’t…”

“You can’t?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“No, you don’t get to keep it to yourself,” Sango insisted, folding her arms against her chest, “Not after you dragged me out on this adventure and waxed poetic about how boring the past is, which is my present by the way. Out with it.”

“You’re not going to like it.”

“I don’t care. Out. With. It.”

“Fine,” Kagome sighed, her blush masked by the heat of the day. “The last time I tried anything new…”

She waited expectantly.

“…Was probably having sex with Inuyasha the night we married.”

A groan erupted from Sango and she began to rub her temples. “Why is everything about sex with you lately?”

“Hey, you asked the question.”

“Are you telling me that over the last year, the only new experience you tried was sex?”

Kagome spun around to look at her. “Is it really that hard to believe? I’m a priestess. I grew up at a shrine, so I learned the rites a long time ago. I also make medicines and treat the injured and infirm, and I learned to do that during our quest to collect the Shikon-no-Tama shards. Every day is the same.”

“Well, if your life is that dull, you could start your family.”

Her finger flew up at Sango and she waved it emphatically. “As I’ve told you and everyone else, I’m not ready. Stop pressuring me.”

“I know, I know,” she apologized, “I’m sorry.”

With her feelings acknowledged, Kagome gave her a sharp nod. Then she turned on her heel and headed down the road again.

“So, why does that memory come to mind as the only new thing that you’ve done in the last year?” she asked, following her. “I’m sure you’ve done other new things.”

“I don’t know. It was just exciting. We’d spent three years apart waiting on the hope that we might see each other again. And then our wish was granted.” She smirked. “We were pretty sheepish when that night came, but once the clothes were off…”

Sango giggled.

“I expected it to hurt, but it was nothing short of fun and amazing. I guess part of that’s a credit to Inuyasha’s experience, but it’s also not like I still had my maidenhead at the time.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know this story.”

“I didn’t tell you?”

She shook her head.

“It happened back before I met you, so maybe that’s why I never mentioned it. I think it was even before Miroku or Shippou showed up. Inuyasha and I were traveling, hunting for Shikon-no-Tama shards like usual. I had left my bicycle at home, so he was giving me a ride on his back. You know how he likes to leap when he’s running?”

She nodded.

“Usually, he uses his youki as he descends, to soften his landing before the next leap—”

Sango’s hand rose to cover her mouth and she let out a muffled, “Oh, no…”

“Well, this time while he was in mid-leap, he spotted a suspicious shadow in the distance and it threw him off his rhythm. He came down at full speed and when he landed, the sudden, jarring stop hit me just right.”

She gasped.

“It was so painful, like deep inside, but I think it was the shock of it happening that made it really hurt. I beat the shit out of the back of his head until he set me down.”

“Did he know what happened?”

She laughed. “I didn’t even know what happened. I was just in pain, cursing and yelling at him. But he sure noticed the blood before I did though.”

Sango stared at her, mortified.

“The way I straddle his back when he carries me… it opens things up.”

“No, no, no…”

“Yeah,” Kagome winced. “At least firerat fur is red. Then he got all mad, accusing me of not telling him that I was menstruating, because jumping around can knock stuff loose, if you know what I mean.”

“I would have beat his ass some more for that…”

“Oh, I did,” she assured with a wink. “I planted him into a deep crater that day.”

“Did he ever figure out what really happened?”

“I was so embarrassed that I never told him and if he’s realized it since then, he’s never let on. But I’ll tell you one thing, if he even suspects that I’m menstruating, he makes me walk everywhere. No rides, whatsoever.”

Sango looked at her, mouth agape. Then laughter burst from her, shaking her shoulders. Kagome joined in, catching her mirth, and their amusement echoed across the vale until tears leaked from their eyes.

“Well,” Sango wheezed as she stifled her last chuckle and wiped her cheeks dry with the back of her hand. “That was much more memorable than how I accidentally lost my maidenhead.”

“You, too?”

“I don’t remember it, but apparently I lost it when I was very young. The price of being a taijiya, I suppose.”

Kagome eyed her, blinking. “Oh? What happened?”

“I was about Rin’s age when Sesshoumaru left her in our care at the village. Ever since I could walk, I had spent most of my free time training to become a taijiya. I was driven and competitive. I wanted to be the best. I had to be the best. As the chieftain, my father and his lineage had led the clan for almost a century, but he and my mother only had two children who survived infancy. Kohaku had been sickly when he was young, so there was a lot of pressure on me to prove myself. To be the first female chieftain of our clan and keep our legacy from falling to a branch family.”

“Wow, I didn’t know that.”

Reaching back, Sango knocked on the massive boomerang strapped across her back. “That’s why I wield Hiraikotsu. It’s an heirloom and one of the most difficult and destructive weapons to manage, but that also makes it a symbol of power and domination. If I could master it and make it mine, then there would be no doubt among even the more skeptical members that I was worthy to lead our clan.

“My father told me that it happened when I fought my first centipede youkai. It hadn’t been a very big one, but more than enough to give any of our hunters trouble and definitely too much for a little taijiya-in-training. But that didn’t stop me. He’d brought me along to watch, but before he knew it, I charged towards it, my practice boomerang at the ready. The youkai’s whipping body scythed through the air, clipping me, and I flew back into a thicket.”

Incredulous, Kagome shook her head. “And my mother thought I was fearless as a kid.”

“My father ran to me while the other hunters subdued the beast and when he found me, I was an embarrassed bundle of rage covered in twigs and scratches. And then he saw the blood. I don’t know if it was from the centipede’s blow or landing in the bushes, but my maidenhood was gone. Though I’d say, knowing myself, my pride was probably hurt more than the rest of me.”

Kagome giggled.

“What?”

“What better sign from the gods that you were meant to lead the clan than to lose your maidenhood fighting a centipede? It’s almost prophetic.”

Sango chuckled but then her expression grew distant as she gazed into the sun-drenched fields and forests around them. “My father said the same thing. Like the universe had married me into the role that day. After that, I didn’t spend any time performing womanly duties. Everything was preparation for my succession, especially when Kohaku showed no interest in competing with me. He was too gentle. Still is. I mastered Hiraikotsu and became the only female taijiya in recent years. Everything was on track. And then Naraku happened.”

Her expression sobering, Kagome looked away. “I’m sorry. I wished that we could have stopped him sooner. Or maybe if I hadn’t shattered the Shikon-no-Tama—”

“Stop,” Sango soothed. “It’s not your fault. You didn’t make him the monster that he was. I have a good life now and I owe it all to you. So many people across this land owe everything to you. You saved us.”

She smiled softly and blinked back her tears.

“Though, I have to admit,” she confided as they approached an old, wooden bridge that arched over a sparkling river choked with cattails. “I do wish that I had paid a little attention to what most of the women in the clan were doing. Having children with Miroku was great in theory but I had no experience in childrearing until it happened to me.”

The bridge planks thumped hollowly under their feet as they crossed it.

“As a sister who helped raise my little brother,” Kagome asserted with the voice of authority, “I can say that you’re doing fine. Besides it’s a little unfair that you were hit with twins for your first time.”

“Probably,” Sango laughed.

“You’re a good mother,” she assured.

“It’s just that…”

With a kind smile, she waited.

“It’s just that, for most of my life, this was never the plan.”

Sighing deeply, Kagome reached over and hugged her friend’s shoulders as they walked. “I know. I know.”


	6. An Old Woman's Wisdom

Chapter Six: An Old Woman’s Wisdom

A once lonely hovel nestled between verdant fields overflowing with leafy produce and herbs, Jinenji’s family home was bustling with activity. Under overhanging eaves, the morning’s harvest lay trimmed, bundled, and stacked on shelves and tables, their pricing scrawled out on cards beside them. Nearby villagers milled among them, scrutinizing each offering before plucking it up and adding it to the conical baskets slung across their bodies. A regular market, clearly booming, when no one had dared visit in times past.

Side-by-side, Kagome and Sango approached, their eyes wide as they marveled at the stream of people coming and going, immune to the hot summer day.

“When did this place get so busy?” Sango asked as she watched a young woman stride away, the basket on her back bulging with green.

Kagome shook her head, her eyebrows raised. “Jinenji’s mother mentioned that they were going to try expanding their farm. I haven’t been out this way since Spring. I guess it’s really taken off in the meantime.”

She nodded. “Yeah…”

A spry, old woman in a modest robe wove her way through the people, poking through their baskets and accepting coins in payment before exchanging departing bows. She made quick work of the customers, leaving no one to wait long in the heat. The crowd slowly thinned as the shelves emptied, and soon there were only a few still picking over the leftovers.

“O-baa-chan,” Kagome called out.

Her mouth moving as she counted, the old woman finished sorting through her coin purse, cinched it closed, and looked up. A crooked tooth smile spread across her face. “Kagome-chan!”

She waved in reply.

“Oh my, is that Sango-chan, too?” she gasped excitedly.

“It’s been a long time,” Sango replied sheepishly, shame tinting her cheeks along with the sun.

“Ages, at least,” she added, tapping her lip thoughtfully. “The last time you visited you had a couple pork buns baking in your oven.”

Kagome chuckled. “Well, now she has three of them and the last one is already gurgling words.”

“Already?” she gasped. “Where does the time go?”

Wearing a sly grin, she replied, “I know. Four years flies by.”

“Four years?!”

“Ka-go-me-chan,” Sango ground out in a whisper.

With her mischief thinly veiled by buttoned lips, Kagome gave her an apologetic shrug. 

And she received a withering glare in return.

“Well, come on,” the old woman announced with a loud clap, snatching back their attention. “You both look terribly dirty and hot. Let’s go get you freshened up at the well and you can tell me what you’ve been up to lately.”

Both women nodded and together, they headed across the grassy yard and towards the fields behind the hovel. A narrow path arced up a hillside, splitting the many planted rows, and they made their way along it. With a keen eye, Kagome catalogued each crop as they passed by, identifying them by their leaves and the branching of their stems. Medicinal herbs, ingredients for folk remedies, and rare native flora abounded.

“Your farm has grown a lot since I last came by for supplies,” she commented. “I don’t think you had half these varieties a few months ago.” 

“Jinenji has a gift,” she admitted with a proud grin. “And he’s a dutiful worker. The only thing holding him back was his shame about his body and the public’s fear of the unknown. But he met another hanyou and found his nerve, well as best as an anxious young man can…”

Kagome smiled softly, thinking of firerat fur.

“…And the people, after seeing youkai and humans come together to save them from Naraku, they gave this little medicinal market a shot.” Halfway into her stride, she turned to spy back at the women. “There isn’t enough gratitude in the world to express how thankful we are for you both and your family. You saved us and gave us courage. We’ll never forget it.”

“It was our honor. We wouldn’t have been successful without support from people like you and Jinenji. Truly.”

“So modest,” she remarked as she turned back up the hill, heading for the old, weathered frame of a water well. “A fine quality to have now that the battles are over and you’ve settled down with good men, especially you, Sango-chan. To be a dutiful wife tending to the home must be quite peaceful and satisfying.”

A wistful cast fell over Sango’s face and her gaze drifted to the valley and the distant mountains beyond shrouded in curling clouds. “Yes, it’s been lovely. What I’ve always wanted.”

“And you Kagome-chan, what pride you must have to be formally accepted as a priestess. Though any shrine would be a fool to deny you given that you’re Kikyou’s reincarnation. It’s practically fate.”

Kagome’s gaze drifted as well, gravitating to the rich, deep forest that edged the valley in mystery and shadow, begging to be explored. “Fate in my favor, I suppose.”

“Particularly given that you have no family here. To quickly find a place and purpose when you were so recently a stranger is no small fortune, my dear. We all have much to be thankful for.”

A silence, like mourning, followed.

Then they reached the well. Her arm thin and sinewy, the old woman took the crank and began lowering the battered bucket. A hollow plunk echoed up from the shaft and she reversed the crank, drawing the bucket back up. As it breached the surface, she hefted the brimming bucket onto the frame, and it sloshed with cold, clear water.

The women licked their lips with dry tongues.

“Here you are, dears,” the old woman offered, taking a step back to give them room. “Take what you need and there’s plenty more.”

The words had barely left her mouth before Kagome and Sango descended on the bucket, sloppily pouring it into their canteens. They gulped them down, moaning with contentment, and water streamed down their chins. Watching them splash their necks and faces next, the old woman chuckled, bemused.

“It’s been so long since I’ve done any traveling that I’d forgotten how strenuous it can be,” she remarked as she sent the empty bucket back down the shaft for a refill. “Especially in the summer.”

“It was kind of a spontaneous trip,” Kagome admitted as she took a seat on the frame and started rinsing off her feet.

“Oh? I was wondering why you weren’t in your priestess garb.”

She hid her wince with a casual shrug. “We needed some off-duty time and the opportunity to get away from the village for a little bit came up rather abruptly, so we took it. Unfortunately, we ended up being in such a hurry that there wasn’t much time to prepare.”

“I see,” she said softly as she retrieved the heavy bucket and handed it to Sango. “You came to see me because you forgot something?”

“Yeah…” Kagome mumbled, suddenly feeling ashamed. “I meant to visit more often—"

“Stop,” she interrupted gently with the wave of her hand, “If the price of being in a hurry is that you’ve come to visit me, then I’m joyful that you’re paying up. There’s nothing I have that I wouldn’t share with you or Sango, so tell me. What do you need?”

She smiled, basking in the warmth of her generosity.

“Come along. Out with it.”

“Sorry,” she apologized. Then her expression turned a shade devious. “We were wondering if you had any of your special tea blend in stock.”

The old woman eyed her, slightly bewildered.

“The one for birth spacing.”

“Ahh…” she sighed before her look turned critical. “What were you thinking by forgetting that at home? If you still intend on waiting to plan your family—”

“I brought my share. It’s Sango who forgot.”

“Kagome-chan!” Sango exclaimed.

She winced. “I’ll take an arrow for you, but not this!”

“Really, Sango-chan,” the old woman admonished before she could reply. “You’re going to end up with child again when you’re not ready. You’re supposed to prepare it every day.”

Sango sighed as she refilled her canteen. “I know. Between the kids and Miroku, I’ve been distracted lately.”

Her expression softened.

“It really is important to me to have some control,” Sango added, "Especially over that. So, if you have any in stock…”

“Don’t worry,” she soothed with a wink. “I have plenty to share. It’s quite popular among the village women even though it’s a secret trade.”

“You know,” Kagome said with a frown, “While I respect it as a condition to get access to the tea, I don’t like that it’s kept as a secret. Makes it seem like having it is taboo.”

“A little bit,” Sango agreed.

“Bah,” the old woman scoffed, waving a dismissive hand, “That’s not the reason we keep it from them. If you ask me, it’s not a man’s business and that’s why it’s _private_. It’s your body. Not his. And they have a way of providing uninvited input on these matters even though they are far from experts.” She lifted her chin defiantly. “In fact, there are a lot of tricks and secrets about the sexes that they don’t know, no matter how world-wise they think they are.”

Kagome laughed. “We know a couple of those types.”

“I’ll let you in on something, my dear. They’re all those types.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it,” she agreed as she ran her fingers through her hair, combing out the tangles. Then she pursed her lips, her eyes sly. “Tricks and secrets about the sexes, you say?”

Sango eyed her warily.

“I know a few,” the old woman admitted with a chuckle as she set the empty bucket back in its place. “You don’t get to my age without being a little observant.”

“All right then. What’s your best secret when it comes to sex?” Kagome asked with a smirk.

“Kagome-chan!” Sango blurted out, mortified. “What kind of question is that?”

“We’re already mostly on the subject!”

“She’s a respected elder. That’s not something you can ask!”

The old woman cackled joyously, startling both women into silence, and they turned from each other to stare at her.

“How I’ve missed you both,” the old woman added warmly, touching each of their cheeks with her gnarled hand. “You’re simply too much and I love it. One day, I hope my son will find a bright spirit like one of you to marry.”

Kagome grinned proudly. “I hope so, too.”

“Hmm, my best secret when it comes to sex, you say?” she repeated thoughtfully, her finger tapping her chin.

Surreptitiously from the corner of her mouth, Kagome stuck her tongue out at Sango, eliciting a narrow-eyed squint in reply.

“I’ve got one,” the old woman proclaimed, slapping the heel of her fist against the palm of her hand. “Particularly since the men you’re married to are still young and virile.”

“Oh? Do share.”

“So, Jinenji’s father,” she sighed dreamily, “As handsome and capable as he was, had one flaw and that was his body was a little too eager to finish, if you know what I mean. Personally, I blame my once perfect figure and other...” She cleared her throat. “…talents.”

“And those talents aren’t the secret?”

She waved a finger at her. “Those you must discover on your own.” 

Kagome puffed out her cheeks, disappointed.

“As I was saying,” she began again, “He had a habit of climaxing too quickly, which was disappointing for us both. But I figured out that if you take a man by the base of the shaft and apply pressure upwards with your thumb, you can occasionally prolong the fun.”

Cupping her hand as if she were holding an imaginary erection, Kagome pressed her thumb up slightly. “Like this?”

She nodded. “Precisely.”

A mischievous grin spread across her face.

“Now, it doesn’t necessarily work for all men and even if it does, they might not enjoy it. But, for some, it can prolong the finish and make it better for everyone involved.” She raised an eyebrow. “Was that a satisfactory enough secret for you, my dear?”

“Yes,” she agreed as she rose to her feet and gave her a polite bow. “Thank you for sharing it. I’m sure it will come in _handy_.”

“Ha!” the old woman chuckled. “Bright spirits, indeed.”

Down the hill beside the hovel, a young man called out to them, beckoning for them to return.

“It seems I have a customer,” she sighed as she put her hands on her hips. “A good problem to have most of the time, but a longer break would have been nice.”

“I guess our break is over now, too,” Kagome commented as she glanced towards her friend. “Right, Sango-chan?”

Her expression distant, Sango stared at the ground, deep in thought.

“Sango-chan?”

She blinked, drawn from her reverie. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

“Break time is over,” she repeated and then gently elbowed her, her eyebrows bouncing. “Distracted by the secret technique we just learned about?”

“What? N-No!” she stuttered, her cheeks turning rosy.

“Then what were you thinking about?”

“S-Stuff.”

“Right…”

Her blush darkened.

Heading to the path leading back down to the hill, the old woman gestured towards the hovel. “Come along, dears. Let me go find you a supply of tea so you both can be on your way. And find out what this gentleman needs.”

Kagome and Sango nodded in reply, hoisting their belongings onto their backs and securing them in place. With the old woman taking the lead, they made their way downhill, refreshed in body and heart. The heat of the day felt milder now and the sprawling vistas that surrounded them seemed more vibrant and invigorating.

As they approached the hovel, Kagome’s pace slowed, her eyes pinned on the young man as he anxiously fidgeted. Perched upon his head, a young macaque picked through his hair with tiny, pink fingers, messing up what was once a neatly tied ponytail.

“What is it, Kagome-chan?” Sango asked, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. The old woman left them behind and disappeared into the hovel.

“Is that… Nobunaga?” she wondered.

“What? Like the famous lord?”

“No, no, no,” she snorted with a laugh. “This guy is completely unrelated. And don’t bring that up. He’ll get offended.”

She shook her head. “Wasn’t planning on it but all right. So, why are we staring at him?”

“I don’t know,” Kagome mused, her head tilted to the side. “His face is pretty cute.”

As he paced, his coin purse tumbled out of his sleeve, hitting the ground with a jangling thump. On alert, the monkey hooted and yanked on the man’s disheveled ponytail, jerking his head around. A cacophony of shouts and barks ensued as they lost their balance and ended up in a jumbled heap on the ground.

Sango blinked slowly, her expression incredulous. “Don’t tell me that you’re thinking about sleeping with him.”

“Eh,” she shrugged as she continued her assessment, “His body is probably decent, too, given that he’s a samurai and all that.” 

“Really? This guy?”

Then she shook her head, scrunching up her nose. “Nah, I’ll pass. Somehow, I think that monkey will get involved and that’s a dealbreaker for me. Imagine you’re in the middle of fucking and suddenly there’s a little, white monkey grooming your hair.”

“Or it’s riding his head while he’s thrusting, just staring at you.”

Shivers shot through both women and they erupted in laughter.

Snatching up his coin purse, Nobunaga spun towards them, his hand shading his brow and embarrassment reddening his face. A cheery hoot from his monkey lessened his discomfiture and he brightened. “Kagome-san?”

“Hi Nobunaga-san,” she called out with a wave. “It’s been a long time. How have you been?”

“Good,” he replied as he climbed to his feet and began patting the grass and dirt from his clothes. “The Takeda Clan is growing stronger by the day and I’ve risen in rank. And you?”

She shook her head. “Not much. Defeated an all-powerful, half-youkai monster bent on dominating the world and released the enchantment on the Shikon-no-Tama, saving the lives of thousands. Perhaps millions.”

He nodded appreciatively. “Sounds admirable for peasantry.”

Sango leaned towards her, her voice low, “You’re not fucking this guy.”

She whispered back through her smile. “Nope.”

The old woman emerged from the hovel, a small box with dovetail joints in her hand. She approached Sango and offered it to her.

“Hold on, let me pay you,” she said as she dug into her sleeve in search of money.

“Oh, stop,” she dissuaded, “Just promise me that you’ll come to visit more often rather than sending Kagome to pick up what you need. And that you’ll drink a cup of this every day until you’re ready to add more to your brood.”

With a bow, she accepted the box graciously. “I will.”

“Now,” the old woman said as she turned to Nobunaga, a hand on her hip. “What did you need, young samurai?”

“Oh,” he mumbled, his words unsure. “Is the man of the house home? I’d rather not burden a frail woman of your many years with my quest.”

She gave him a flat look. “You’ve got me and that’s it, so spit it out.”

He cleared his throat, the intimidating auras of three unimpressed women filling his mouth with cotton. “I’ve been tasked by the lord of my beloved princess to rid a spring at his land’s southern border from a youkai infestation. Since my last experience with exterminating a youkai was rather disastrous without help, I’ve come in search of someone who is better skilled to handle it. I learned that a human-friendly hanyou resides here, so I thought perhaps he’d make a good recruit.”

She chuckled. “I’m sorry but Jinenji is not a fighter.”

He frowned, disappointed.

“How much does it pay?” Kagome asked.

“A hefty sum,” he replied, and his eyes widened. “Why? Is your companion with the white hair and ears around? Would he be willing to help?”

“No, he’s not here,” she assured, then thumbed towards herself and Sango. “But we are, and we could use a little spending money.”

“Hmm,” he hesitated. “No offense, but—”

“I’d say after all I’ve been through,” she interrupted, her expression fierce, “I more than qualify as a warrior priestess and Sango here is from a long line of taijiyas who specialize in youkai extermination. You’re not going to find a better team, so give us the details and maybe you’ll rise up another rank or two by the time we’re done.”

He eyed them both, sizing up the weapons slung across their backs as he weighed her offer.

She waited, her chin pushed out and her chest puffed.

“All right,” he acquiesced, “You handled yourself well when the lord was possessed by a frog youkai, so if you’re certain that you won’t fail now, then the job is yours. The spring is along a ridge north of here and near a waterfall. My princess and her lord enjoyed taking day trips to it, but it has since become overrun with youkai. The lord is offering payment to anyone who can clear the spring out and rather than bringing back the heads as proof, he demands only the pelt from the leader as a trophy.”

“Done,” she agreed with a nod.

“My reputation is riding on your success. Disappointing the beloved princess that I serve is worse than death to me.”

The monkey barked in agreement.

“Don’t worry,” she assured confidently. “We’ve got this.”


	7. An Indecent Proposal

Chapter Seven: An Indecent Proposal

Under the wide brim of her hat, Kagome frowned.

From high above her, the warm sun shone, burning away the gray morning to reveal the brilliant, azure sky. The golden rays filtered down through the sylvan canopy, dappling the ground like stars in the night. The undergrowth was thick with shrubs and brambles and they pricked her cuffs and fingers as she wandered through and plucked their berries.

Now as she loitered under the shade of a tree, she raided her cache, popping a berry into her mouth and enjoying the juicy tartness that matched her mood.

Sango peeked out from behind a nearby tree with crumbled leaves and twigs stuck in her hair. “I found the trail! This way!”

Kagome eyed her skeptically. “Are you sure this time?”

She waved her hand in a placating manner and chuckled innocently. “Mostly. But don’t worry, I’m absolutely certain that we’re getting closer.”

The furrow in her brow deepened

She waved again. “Really. It’s all coming back to me.”

“You know,” Kagome noted, “I realize that sometimes the longer couples are together, they more they resemble each other. With that being said, I think it’s for the best that you and Miroku are spending a little time apart this week.”

“What do you mean?”

She waved at her mockingly.

Sango blinked, then looked at her own hand. “Oh.”

“He does it all the time, especially when he shouldn’t be trusted.”

She shrugged. “I didn’t even notice.”

“Not saying that you’re being deceptive,” she quickly assured. “But we have been lost in these woods all morning long when we could have just taken the road like the lord must have when he visited the spring.”

Sango sighed, picking at the detritus in her hair. “I used to be so good at tracking. I could find the barest print or a broken twig and know where to find a youkai faster than any road could take me.”

Feeling immediately contrite, Kagome wove her way towards her and began plucking at her hair, too, removing a nest of leaves her friend hadn’t seen. “It’s all right. I couldn’t even pick a direction yesterday, so I have no business giving you a hard time. I’m just… antsy. We only have six days left and half of today is almost spent.”

“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “Tracking is a muscle I haven’t stretched in a long time. And I’ve been trying to keep us downwind, particularly since we don’t know what type of youkai are involved.”

“You’re right. It’s better to take our time than to rush in. If anyone gets the element of surprise, it should be us.”

Sango winked. “And if all goes as planned, we snatch their pelt and get our reward.”

Kagome grinned, then her expression sobered to a thoughtful frown as she combed deep into Sango’s hair to snag the last elusive leaf. She held it up. “What I’m doing qualifies as grooming, doesn’t it?”

“I suppose.”

“Does that make me a snow monkey then?”

She snorted. “You’ve always been a snow monkey. You just can’t fit on top of Inuyasha’s head, so you ride on his back.”

Kagome’s eyes widened. 

Sango stared at her, perplexed.

A hoot bubbled from her. Then another. Soon she sang a chorus, punctuating them with chittering and howls as she played at bouncing around the tree like a macaque.

Laughter burst from Sango as she watched. Overcome by her own mirth, Kagome’s simian theatrics ended in a stumble as she began to laugh with her. Together, they enjoyed their amusement until it died down to scattered giggles.

“That was ridiculous,” Sango commented, wiping away a tear.

“It’s nice to be ridiculous,” Kagome added, catching her breath. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had the chance.”

“Too true.”

“So,” she asked with a satisfied sigh, “Do you want to show me this trail you found?”

She nodded cheerfully and gestured deep into the forest. “It’s right this way.”

With Sango taking the lead, the women wove their way among the trees, heading west. Through the winding branches above, they spied the craggy ridgeline carved from granite, their Polaris. Yet even without it, as her senses grew sharper, Sango teased out the trail, spotting overturned leaf litter and bent blades of grass and seeing their connection as if it were as clear as water.

She hummed under her breath.

“What is it?” Kagome asked, adjusting the bow on her back and feeling for her quiver. “Are we close? Do we need to get ready?”

“Maybe,” Sango replied, tilting her head towards a break in the trees. “I can hear the falls.”

Mimicking her, she listened. Muffled by distance, she could make out the rushing thunder of a waterfall. A devilish smile spread across her lips and she took a half-step forward. “Finally.”

“Wait, Kagome-chan,” she warned, catching her arm. “We haven’t had any rain since the beginning of summer and the ground in hard-packed.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I don’t know what kind of youkai are out there. Every sign of their passing has been from abraded bark or a broken twig. I haven’t seen a single, decent track. The most I can say is that after discovering a tuft of fur, I’m fairly certain they’re of a mammalian variety and that’s it.”

Kagome frowned

“Be patient a little bit longer. We’re alone, so let’s just do a little reconnaissance. Afterall, there’s no Tetsusaiga to back us up.”

Her lips pouted.

“We’re supposed to be smarter than the men, right?”

Blowing out a breath, she nodded. “I guess. Can’t give the guys a hard time about charging into battle and then go and do the same thing.”

Sango smiled and let go of her arm to give her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Let’s sneak up to that break in the trees and see what’s out there.”

With nimble feet, they crept forward, skillfully dodging the litter of leaves and twigs. Ahead, the gap between the trees blazed with sunlight above a thick hedge. The women closed in on it, stooping down behind the cover, and as they peered over the entwined branches, they gasped.

In a white plume, a waterfall cascaded down the ridge, gleaming in the sun. Mist billowed at its foot as its water dashed against rocks before flowing away in a gentle ria. Adjacent to it, steam mixed with the mist, betraying the presence of a hot spring in the shadow of the falls. Meadowland surrounded the water, lush and green. And amid the soft grass and yellow dandelions were dozens of young men.

Tanned bodies corded with muscle, they enjoyed the water, stripped naked and without care. Yips and shouts carried across the meadow as they played in the ria, splashing and dunking one another below the waves. With their backs against the rocks, others soaked in the spring, their eyes closed as they absorbed the soothing heat.

Hungry for all the pleasures, they switched between the ria and the spring, their strapping chests and abdomens glistening wet. The water trickled down their bodies, channeled by the v-shaped grooves along their hips to their dark groins, and they would cast it off with a vigorous shake, their flaccid bits bouncing. Hidden in the grass, others lounged, letting the summertime day bake them dry instead.

“Wow…” Kagome murmured, her throat suddenly dry.

Wordlessly, Sango nodded in agreement.

“I wasn’t expecting this.”

Sango nodded again.

“And I’m definitely not complaining either. Though I must say it’s become clear why our plain-looking lord doesn’t want to bring his pretty princess to the spring anymore. She might get eaten in the best way possible.” Then she paused and her brow furrowed. “Wait… Are those wolfie-wolves?”

Laying down at attention throughout the meadowland, mottled gray wolves dutifully watched the forest, their only movement a flick of the ears when the young men whooped in play.

Sango cleared her throat. “Wolfie-wolves?”

“Yeah,” Kagome explained. “In wolf youkai packs, I can never tell if the wolves are just wolves or if they’re youkai, too. But even if I call them wolves, I feel like that’s confusing because they’re all wolves, technically.”

“I guess that makes sense, especially considering they’re larger than the region’s native wolves.”

She tapped her finger against her lips. “So, if this is a wolf youkai pack, given how big their ranges are, I’m willing to bet they belong to Kouga.” A lascivious chuckle bubbled from her.

“Kagome-chan…”

“What?”

“You can’t sleep with Kouga.”

“Why?” she asked pertly. “It’s my week of freedom, and I’m almost certain he’d be down for it.”

“You know why.”

“Come on,” she groused, gesturing at the men wrestling in the grass as others laughed and cheered. “They’re having so much fun. Who wouldn’t want to fuck that?”

“Look, I don’t know if Inuyasha and Kouga are friends or rivals, but you can’t mess with their relationship like this. It’ll cause irreparable damage not just between the two of them, but also between you and Inuyasha.”

“But—”

“This is supposed to be a week without consequences. Well, that’s a serious consequence out there. Too high a price for a little fun.”

“Could be a big fun.”

She rolled her eyes.

Kagome blew out a breath. “You’re right. Kouga would make Inuyasha’s life a living hell if I slept with him. They’d get into fights and half the village would end up in splinters.”

“Both of them are far too proud to let it be anything less than that.”

Her expression turned pensive. “Too proud, huh?”

Sango eyed her skeptically. “What?”

She grinned slyly and rubbed her hands together. “I’ve got an idea. Ooh, it’s perfect, and if it works, then we get everything. Consequence free.”

“Kagome-chan…”

She took Sango under the arm, her eyebrows bouncing. “Trust me.”

Then she dragged her from the safety of the hedge and into the bright meadow.

Letting out sharp, warning barks, the sentry wolves were on their feet, their heads down and ears back. The fur along the ridges of their spines prickled and menacing growls rumbled from their throats.

Her eyes hard and jaw set, Sango reached back for Hiraikotsu, loosening it from its harness.

“Wait,” Kagome whispered. “It’ll be all right.”

From afar, the men froze in mid-play, gawking at the young women walking through the field towards them, the warm day rippling the air between them.

The wolves stalked forward, their teeth bared.

“Kagome-chan…”

“Don’t worry,” she replied devilishly. Then she fanned her fingers around her mouth and shouted at the top of her lungs, “KOUGA!”

A dark head of hair with a jaunty ponytail popped up in the long grass and cast about in confusion. Several of the men called out to him, gesturing towards the women. He spun around and rubbed the sleep from his bright, blue eyes.

Snarling, the wolves sprang towards the women, closing the distance within a few leaps.

“Kagome-chaaaan…”

“KOUGA!” she shouted again.

His eyes widened.

A piercing whistle shattered the air and the wolves peeled away from their attack, brushing past them as though deflected by an unseen barrier. They whined and whimpered as they loped back towards their defensive positions, their disappointment apparent.

Sango let out an expletive-laced sigh and wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.

“See, everything’s fine,” Kagome said brightly with a self-satisfied smile.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it and shook her head.

“Mm-hmm,” Kagome purred, “Now this is what I was looking for.”

His ponytail catching the breeze, Kouga climbed to his feet, his bare, sun-kissed skin aglow in the light. And as he stretched towards the sky, his lean muscles rippled along his long torso and his robust, sinewy legs.

“Now that’s a man who runs at least a hundred miles per day… uphill,” she added. “Is there even an ounce of body fat on him? Or on any of them really?”

Sango glanced down at her own body and frowned.

“Oh, come on. The only weight you’ve gained since becoming a mother is in your boobs. They’re almost twice as big as they were before. I’m so jealous.”

She cupped them gently. “They’re just more in the way now.”

She scoffed in disgust.

He sauntered towards them, his chest out and his head held high. There was a masculine rhythm to the way his shoulders and hips swayed, alternating as he strode. Hypnotized, Kagome couldn’t tear herself away until he was standing in front of her, grinning brashly.

“Oi, Kagome,” he greeted, then stretched from side-to-side, toying with her gaze. “It’s been a while.”

She blinked, recognizing that words were being spoken to her. Gritting her teeth, she forced her attention upwards to his smug face and refused to let it waver. This wouldn’t work if she let herself be distracted, no matter how tempting it was. Afterall, you never let the wolf see you sweat, because there was only one predator here and that was her.

Clearing her throat, she found her voice and scrubbed it clean of lust before she spoke. “You’re right. It has been a while. We haven’t journeyed this far west in years.”

His grin sobered a fraction and a hint of unsureness flashed across his face. “We?” Using his hand to shield his eyes, he scanned the tree line. “Is Dog Face around here, too?” 

“Nope. It’s just Sango and I. We were out looking for adventure.”

“Do you like what you’ve found?” he asked, a fang clipping his lip. Reaching up, he laced his fingers behind his head and began to stretch and flex, his muscle gliding under his skin, drawing her eye downward to his groin.

“Well,” she supplied with a shrug. “It’s not anything I haven’t seen before. Like literally. You don’t wear any kind of undergarments under your fur wrap—”

“Pelt.”

“Whatever. The point is that, over the years, I’ve probably seen your junk more often than I’ve seen Inuyasha’s and I live with him.”

He scoffed and crossed his arms against his chest.

“The only thing I don’t know is if you’re a _show_ er or a _grow_ er, but let’s hope it’s the latter.”

“All right. All right,” he grumbled loudly. “You made your point. So, why…”

She watched him as his mind sputtered to a stop and then slowly reversed course.

“Wait,” he said, shaking his head in confusion. “What do you mean by ‘hoping for the latter’?”

“I told you. We’re looking for adventure.”

Eyebrows raised, he gestured to his body. “This kind of adventure?”

“Maybe.”

His confusion deepened. “But what about—”

“He and I have an agreement. In consideration for how young and inexperienced I was when we married, I’ve demanded a week of freedom where I can do whatever I want sans consequence.” She reached forward with her finger and gently traced the curve of his tantalizing chest, heading downward. “I can even do… you.”

He swallowed dryly, and his member swelled.

“Oh my, Sango-chan,” she cooed, nibbling at the inside of her lip. “He is a grower.”

Her finger began to snake down his abdomen dangerously close to his arousal and he clasped her hand, holding her firmly. “Are you serious? Don’t mess with me on this.”

“Perfectly serious.”

Exhaling giddiness, he moved to draw her close. 

And she slipped free from his grasp with a graceful sidestep. Shaking her finger at him, she chided, “Now, now, there are some caveats you must agree to first.”

His arousal lowered back to slumber.

“Aren’t you the least bit curious about how we found you?” she asked.

“Not particularly, he replied, nodding towards Sango. “You have the best taijiya in the land with you.”

Sango looked away, blushing lightly.

“Why? You weren’t looking for me?”

“Not specifically,” Kagome explained. “We were offered a mission by a young samurai to clear out a youkai infestation from this spring. Apparently, there’s a lord who can’t bring his beloved princess to their favorite picnic spot anymore because it’s filled with hot, naked, wolf youkai splashing about.”

“Fucking human nobility,” he spat with contempt before pacing in a circle. “The only boundaries they respect are those drawn by others of their kind, though given how often they war, that could be disputed.” He thumbed back towards the spring. “That’s been in our territory for generations. He can make a claim elsewhere. That’s ours.”

She waved her hands in a placating manner, silently ruing Miroku and his tactics. “Now, I’m not trying to upset you. I’m trying to make a deal. Call me a peace negotiator.”

He squinted at her and waited.

“Let the lord have his spring for the next month and you get me for a night.”

He breathed in deep through his nose and let out a long, loaded exhale.

She stared up at him confidently.

“I’d say yes, but it’s not just my spring,” he hedged, rubbing at his face. “My whole pack enjoys it. It’s a lot to ask even for a month, particularly in the summer.”

“Then they can have me for the night, too. Well, I don’t think I can handle all of them, but I’m game for a little… multi-tasking.”

He froze, peering at her through his fingers. “Are you serious? Don’t mess with me on this.”

“As I said before. I’m perfectly serious.”

“All right,” he said quietly as if only to himself, then louder to her. “We have a deal.”

“Excellent.”

Eagerly, he reached for her and she evaded his touch.

“Caveats,” she reiterated. “I said caveats before.”

“There’s more?” he asked exasperatedly.

“As a sign of your extermination, the lord demands your pelt as proof. When I leave tomorrow morning, I’m taking it with me to convince him of your demise.”

“I can’t let you have my pelt!” he exclaimed, jabbing a finger in her direction. “It’s my birthright. It’s been passed on through my family line from prince to prince. And I definitely can’t let it fall into the hands of some stupid human lord who doesn’t respect our pack’s territory. Who knows what disgusting things he’ll do with it?”

“Hold on,” she soothed. “No one said that you couldn’t sneak into his backwater castle and steal it back whenever you wanted. It can magically reappear back around your hips. He just can’t know it was you who took it back.”

Grumbling, he glared at her.

She loosened the lapels of her top to fan herself, exposing a glimpse of her cleavage.

“Fine,” he groused. “But I will steal it back the night you hand it over.”

She shrugged. “The lord will discover that youkai pelts are whimsical things that can vanish in the blink of an eye.”

He snorted. “Is there anything else?”

“You don’t brag about this to anyone and your pack must swear it to secrecy. This is between us. Leave Inuyasha out of it.”

He scoffed.

“I mean it. Or else I’ll tell everyone that the famed wolf prince, seasoned in battle, lost his family pelt to some nobody human lord who can’t lift a sword let alone swing one. Got it?”

With eyes narrowed, he stared at her, testing her resolve.

With her chin thrust out, she met him, unflinching.

“Fine.”

“Oh,” she added, patting Sango on the shoulder. “She’s here as my guest and is under no obligation to participate in tonight’s, uh… festivities. She also has a week of freedom, so if she changes her mind later, that’s on her.”

Casually, his wolfish eyes roamed over Sango’s body and settled on her bosom. “In that case, I hope she changes her mind.”

Sango’s blush deepened.

“So, is there any other ‘caveat’?” he asked Kagome flatly.

“No wolfie-wolves,” she replied firmly.

“No wolfie-wolves?”

“Look I pride myself on being an open-minded person, but there’s a hard line and it’s well before wolfie-wolves. I just want to make that abundantly clear so there aren’t any weird, awkward moments, okay?”

He shrugged. “No wolfie-wolves then. Is that it?”

She screwed up her lips in thought and then shook her head. “That’s it.”

“You’re good?”

“Yes.”

“There’s nothing else?”

“No!”

“All right,” he said with a teasing grin. Then he spun on his heel and shouted across the field. “Everybody, listen! We have special guests tonight and we’re preparing a feast in their honor! We need boar and fish, so get to work!”

He clapped his hands like a crack of thunder and by the time the echo had died, the young men were gone, howling in the forest, keen for the hunt.

“Wolfie-wolves!” he shouted next, “The festivities aren’t for you. You’ll be standing watch.”

A chorus of sad whines replied to him. It was the second time the wolves had been disappointed that day.

Spying back over his shoulder, he winked at the women. “I’m going to go ensure everything is going smoothly. In the meantime, make yourselves at home.”

Then he strode away, heading back towards the spring.

Kagome whistled softly, her eyes pinned to his firm backside. “That ass must have been sculpted by the gods themselves because there’s nothing mortal about it.”

“Kagome-chan?” Sango said.

“Yeah?”

“Was that your great plan?” she asked incredulously.

“Yeah,” she chuckled. “Aren’t I a genius?”


	8. A Hearty First Course

Chapter Eight: A Hearty First Course

Orange ripened to magenta along the western horizon as the warm evening settled into night. In silhouette against the darkening sky, the trees at the forest’s edge rustled, stirred by a breeze carrying the sweet scents of jasmine and lavender. Scattered across the meadow, hearths burned, turning the grass into flickering gold. There, skewered through by iron spits, racks of wild boar sizzled beside largemouth bass and trout. And nestled on stones beside the fire, sweet potatoes roasted, their dark red skin turning crispy.

Seated comfortably on a pile of deer and boar pelts, Kagome and Sango watched as young men bustled around the hearths, basting the meat and turning the potatoes. Their naked bodies aglow in the firelight, the men traded good-hearted ribbing and laughter as they worked, their camaraderie warming the atmosphere better than the fires. 

Then whoops and cheers erupted from them. 

With a swagger in their step, a proud contingent approached from the tree line, their arms burdened with heavy, saké jugs. Abandoning their crackling spits, the others rushed over to them, their enthusiasm turning into yips as they patted the victors’ shoulders and swatted them on their bare asses. Then they relieved them of their spoils. Hoisting the jugs into the air, they paraded triumphantly around the hearths, their meandering paths ending at the feet of the women. There they danced and hooted, the alcohol sloshing inside.

Their hands covering their mouths, the women laughed with sparkling eyes at the spectacle, spurring the men on as they spun and strutted.

“Oi!” Kouga shouted from the comfort of the hot spring just behind the women. “Set the saké down and get back to work! They’re not going to be impressed by a burned dinner.”

Still grinning, conciliatory whimpers rippled through them and they scattered to their hearths to tend to the feast, leaving the jugs behind.

With a humph, Kouga settled back against a rock, the steaming water swirling around his chest.

“It’s all right, Kouga,” Kagome spoke up, still overcome with giggles. “They’re just excited and having fun.”

“Bah,” he growled, resting his head back, “They get distracted too easily and the next thing you know, the feast is a charred mess, and everyone is too drunk to care. Which is perfectly acceptable most of the time, but a little discipline is in order tonight.”

She turned around to spy back at him. “You don’t normally keep them on a short leash?” 

Raising an eyebrow, he gave her a flat look.

She paused, thinking about her phrasing. “No pun intended.”

“Eh…” he replied, scooping up handfuls of water onto his muscled arms and shoulders. “Honestly, this is the only time I let them loose. Our role for the pack is important enough where any goofing around or dereliction of duty is dangerous.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

“I lead the bachelor patrol along the borders of our territory. Here we serve as the first line of defense against potential enemies. Most of the time it’s reconnaissance or surveillance. We keep an eye out for any encroaching rival packs or the occasional threat. And sometimes, like in the case of Naraku, we take the offensive and deal with an enemy before it can harm our bonded members and their families.”

“Hmm…” Sango hummed to herself. “I had wondered why there were only males in your pack.”

“Yeah,” he sighed wistfully, “Females keep to the main pack deeper in the mountains and tend to the families. If we had females around all the time on this patrol, it’d be a nightmare to keep most of these guys in line every day.”

She snorted, curling a lock of hair around her finger. “I suppose it’s rather universal that women are intended to nurture and care for their families while the men provide and protect.”

“I don’t know about humans,” he scoffed, “But our females do more than nurture and care for their families. They lead our hunts and process our prey. They craft armor and weapons for battle. They achieve rank and die by the claw or sword during skirmishes. They wear their scars with honor, because they provide and protect as much as they nurture and care.”

“Then they should be allowed here, too, right?”

“It’s more complicated than that,” he shrugged before gesturing towards a few men shoving each other in play, “Some of these idiots need a little seasoning before they’re reliable in mixed company. The exception being that right now, since we’re taking a few days of leave…”

“…We arrived at just the right time for some unreliability,” Kagome piped up with a wink.

He chuckled. “And there are also some,” he added, nodding towards a pair of older men nuzzling each other with casual affection, “Who prefer an assignment where they’re free of certain familial expectations.”

“Oh?” she wondered.

He glanced towards the men again, waiting for her to catch on.

“Oh…” 

“Right.”

She frowned thoughtfully. “Guess that means I don’t have to fuck the whole pack then.”

A hearty laugh burst from him, shaking his chest and rippling the water. His mirth turned contagious and she joined in, giggling as her cheeks flushed pink.

“You never had to fuck the whole pack,” he assured with a toothy grin. “In truth, if you decide that you don’t want to fuck anyone, then just enjoy the feast and your place of honor. There are no expectations. Just appreciation. By defeating Naraku, you’ve both done a lot for my pack and are worthy of our thanks.”

“In that case,” Kagome teased. “Does that mean you’ll just give me your pelt if I ask?”

Dripping wet, he rose to his feet, sending waves splashing against the rocks. Water trickled down his body and the flickering firelight cast shadows that emphasized every muscular line.

“No,” he replied with a smirk, his blue eyes dazzling with hunger. “That still has a price.” Then he stepped over the rocks and onto the grass. After sweeping the excess water from his chiseled abdomen, he turned back towards the women. “The feast is almost ready, so make yourselves comfortable. We’ll be eating and drinking shortly.”

A sigh swelled in Kagome’s chest as she watched him walk away.

“Kagome-chan?” Sango whispered.

“Yeah?”

“Stop staring at his ass.”

“I’m not sure if that’s physically possible,” she joked, biting her lower lip.

“Well, we need to talk and that means your undivided attention.”

She blinked, then turned to her friend. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong per se,” Sango began, and she gently reached out to touch Kagome’s shoulder. “It’s just that while I know Kouga gave assurances that he and his pack will respect whatever decisions you make tonight, we need to have a plan in case things get carried away, if you know what I mean.”

Kagome clasped her hand reassuringly. “I know I convinced you to come along as my protection if anything got out of hand, but this is Kouga and not some stranger. You don’t need to worry. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“It’s not that I think something bad will happen, but in the heat of sex, things can get out of hand even among well-meaning lovers. Someone yelling in distress or in ecstasy can sound the same if their partners aren’t paying attention.”

She shook her head, mystified. “So, what are you asking for?”

“Mostly, I don’t want to come in swinging Hiraikotsu because it sounds like you’re being attacked or hurt when you’re perfectly fine. And conversely, I don’t want to look the other way, thinking you’re having fun when you’re not and you need my help.”

“Oh…” Kagome hummed, frowning. “So, you’re saying you need a signal.”

“Yeah,” Sango agreed, nodding her head, “Something clear and not anything you’d ever say in the throes of sex.”

“A safe word,” she joked.

“Precisely.”

“How about…” she said, tapping her lip, “…Hiraikotsu then?”

“Hiraikotsu?”

“Yeah,” Kagome replied, and she started to nod, feeling surer, “I’d never say it in bed, and it’s something we both associate with protection.” She chuckled. “If I yell Hiraikotsu, it means someone needs to get a few whacks with a boomerang. I can’t think of a better word.”

“All right,” Sango said, squeezing her shoulder. “If you say Hiraikotsu, I’ll come rescue you.”

She mirrored her affect with a broad grin. “I’m happy you came with me.”

“So am I.”

Then Kagome’s expression sobered to a soft smile. “But you’re still not joining in, right?”

She nodded.

“Then what are you going to do when the dirty stuff starts?”

“Other than being horribly embarrassed?” Sango asked, chuckling.

Kagome laughed in reply. “Yes, other than being horribly embarrassed. I don’t want you to be bored or anything.”

“Don’t worry. Whether I participate or not, none of this will be boring to see. But…” She reached into her bag and pulled out a leather-bound journal and a calligraphy set rolled up in a piece of canvas. “Miroku’s price for me going with you was writing my adventures down. In detail.”

Kagome shook her head in astonishment. “The perv.”

“And with pictures. Even badly sketched ones.”

She groaned. “He’s unrelenting. I don’t know how you do it.”

Sango shrugged. “It keeps things fun, especially after three kids.”

“Still, if he tells…” 

“I wouldn’t worry about that,” she assured. “He swore on his own balls, which he volunteered, by the way, that anything I put in this journal goes no further than his eyes.” She tapped the sheathed sword jutting from the top of her pack. “If he even thinks about opening his mouth, I will hold him to it.”

An awkward chuckle bubbled from Kagome. “You both are too much.”

“Maybe,” Sango smiled. “But the important part is that you don’t need to worry about me tonight. I’ll be fine drinking tea and writing by the firelight. You have your fun. You deserve it.”

She gave her shoulder a final squeeze. “Thank you.”

Her eyes twinkled with affection, and she nodded.

Starting low and quiet, a lone howl pierced the air, startling them. Then another joined in, rising like the silver moon breaching the treetops along the eastern horizon. The bustle around the hearths slowed to a stop, and the chorus grew as the pack, one-by-one, joined in. Together, a surreal harmony formed, reverberating in their chests and echoing across the ridge.

The women felt their skin prickle, turning to goose flesh. 

It was a song made from a single, eerie note. As an aria, it tugged painfully at the heart, embodying the sorrow of isolation, but together, as they joined in concert, the loneliness slowly burned away. Through their harmony, they were connected, no matter the distance, in their prayer to the moon and the night.

The howling trailed off, ending with joyous yips, and Kagome felt herself breathe again. And when she heard Sango’s sigh beside her, she knew she felt the same.

“All right, everyone!” Kouga shouted, their song still inflecting his voice. “It’s time to feast!”

An eager wave of hoots and barks swelled in reply, and the men brandished knives, flashing silver, before they set to work carving the meat. The choicest cuts were laid out on platters with roasted potatoes. The chefs’ heads bowed deep as Kouga toured past, inspecting their offerings. At a tap on the shoulder, they leapt up, made giddy by his approval, and carried their platters to the women where they set them down reverently in exchange for a jug of saké. 

And when there was one jug left, Kouga clapped his hands with finality, and the men erupted. Overwhelmed by salivating hunger, they descended on their evening’s toil with unrestrained delight, slicing off their portions straight from the spit and washing it down with tea or hits from their jugs.

With a proud swagger, Kouga wove through them, pleased by their cheers and laughter as he headed back towards the women at the head of the gathering.

“Choose whichever platter you want,” he offered them as he took his seat beside Kagome.

The women eyed the offerings piled high with meat, potatoes, and a spattering of fresh berries.

Catching their skeptical glances, he added, “You don’t have to finish what you take. Just enjoy it until you’re satisfied. Nothing will go to waste. Trust me.”

Hesitantly, they reached out, pulling the closest platters towards them. The lack of utensils struck them next, but when Kouga plucked up a slab of meat from his own platter with sybaritic aplomb and tore into it, they understood. This was a feast in the most primal sense. The polite trappings of civilization had no place among the uninhibited, because pretense, and all its diplomacy, meant nothing to wolves.

And tonight, they’d run with the pack.

Nibbling at the inside of her cheek, Kagome scooped up a chunk of roasted tenderloin.

From the corner of his eye, Kouga spied at her as he licked his fingers clean.

Then with both hands, she began to devour it. Warm and tangy, the savory rub that seasoned the cut surprised her with a pleasant burn. Her palette ignited, and she tore into what was left, its succulent juices coursing down her chin. Hastily, she brushed her face clean with the back of her hand.

“The danger of wearing clothes…” he chuckled before gesturing towards a fresh stain sinking into her top, “…Is that they soil with the least bit of fun.”

With a disappointed frown, she examined the stain. It was one of her favorite tops. Then she picked up a potato from her platter and took a bite. 

“I’m sure you have a solution to my problem,” she noted as she chewed. 

His chuckle darkened and he tongued his fangs.

And she smirked mischievously and waited.


	9. A Satisfying Second Course

Chapter Nine: A Satisfying Second Course

His eyes reflecting the firelight, Kouga leaned towards Kagome, the heat of his body warming the air between them. His scent, reminiscent of cedar and fresh pine, filled her nose. Long and deep, she breathed him in, and a shudder escaped her as she exhaled.

Another chuckle rumbled in his throat, and he reached past her for the heavy, ceramic jug by her feet. Hooking its corded handle, he hefted it up, and then sat back on his furs.

The air suddenly chilly again, she pouted.

With a tug, he popped the cork off, and the saké’s cloying vapor perfumed the air. Bracing the jug across the back of his forearm, he raised it up to his lips and tipped it towards him. Clear liquid gushed from it, pouring into his mouth and seeping down his chin.

As he set it back down, he blew out a raspy sigh brimming with contentment.

She licked her lips.

“Would you like a sip?” he asked, swiping at the corners of his mouth.

She nodded. “How do I…?”

“Here,” he offered, lifting the jug up by its body, “Grab it by the handle.”

Inquisitively, she took the thick cord and held it firm while he gently maneuvered the jug onto the back of her forearm. The cord went taut when he let go and her arm wavered under the weight.

“It’s almost full,” he reassured with a smile, watching her as she tried to keep it from rolling off her arm. “You won’t have to lift it too high or tip it too far.”

She nodded in reply, her concentration on the jug as she steadied it. Then slowly, she angled her elbow up.

“Archery muscles at work,” he admired, reaching out. From her shoulder to her wrist, he lightly traced her arm with his finger, feeling her flex. “It’s not just a matter of strength, but balance, too.”

She smiled and put the mouth of the jug to her own, still wet from his lips.

In a rush, the saké poured into her. Its saccharine liquid filled her, warming her stomach and burning in her throat. Rising up, the vapor nipped at her sinuses, bringing tears to her eyes. Yet she drunk deep, enjoying the pleasant fog falling over her senses.

After a few swallows, she pulled the jug away and what remained in the neck splashed out, drenching her chin and down her chest. She hissed at the mess, but before she could take her sleeve and dry off, the heat of his body returned.

Eyes bright, he leaned in close to her, his breath steaming her cheek.

“If you’d like,” he whispered, moistening his lips, “I’ll clean you up. It would be a shame to let that saké go to waste.”

Her heart thundered in her chest. This was it. What she wanted from the moment she had set out from the village. It was something buried in her. Something she had denied herself. A yearning for freedom separate from her role as a priestess or as a wife. An effort to embrace her youth on her own terms before the rest of her life and all its responsibilities came rushing at her. Somewhere deep inside, she expected a pang of guilt or shame for when this moment came, but it wasn’t there. This was something she needed, and she was ready to seize it.

Leaning forward, she met him, her lips brushing against his as she spoke. “Don’t let it go to waste then.”

His hand reached up, tangling in her dark hair, and he pressed his mouth against hers in a hungry kiss. Their lips moved together soft and wet, and as he sampled her mouth, she tasted the hints of saké lingering on his tongue. Need pulsed within her and she met his tongue with her own, matching his fervor. Together, they slipped against each other, exploring and tasting.

Then the need for air wrenched her away, sending her gasping. Her cheeks flushed, she stared at him with hooded eyes, catching her breath.

With a wolfish smirk, he moved closer, dappling soft kisses along her chin and jaw, and with each peck, he flicked his tongue, lapping up the spilled saké on her skin. 

Closing her eyes, she moaned and tipped her head up, baring her throat to his ministrations.

Another chuckle rumbled from him and his kisses turned rougher. His hand still gripping her hair, he pulled her head back, further exposing her delicate neck. Sucking and licking, he worked his way down it, leaving a trail of pink marks in his wake. And when he reached the dip of her collarbone, she gasped.

He nuzzled her chest with his mouth, parting her top and revealing a tantalizing glimpse of her cleavage. He paused, breathing her in, and then he let out a throaty sigh overflowing with need.

“If at any point, you want me to stop,” he said huskily as his hand slid from her hair to her cheek where he caressed her lovingly with his thumb, “Please tell me. I won’t be offended.”

She nodded hurriedly, her appreciation warring with her impatience. “I will.”

He snorted, amusement dazzling his eyes, and he leaned down, setting a kiss in the gap between her loose lapels. With a moan she arched her back, pressing against his mouth. He nuzzled her again, and then sat up. Gently, he slid behind her. His hands reached around her waist and he pulled her close, his legs on either side of her. She settled back against his chest, enjoying his warmth, and another gasp escaped her as she felt his arousal throbbing against her lower back, driving her need harder.

Again, he breathed in deep, his face buried in her tousled hair, and as he exhaled with a growl, a shiver coursed down her spine. He swept her hair away and nipped at the dip between her neck and shoulder, tickling and exciting her all at once. Then his hands slid up from her waist and over her belly, making their way towards her breasts. He cupped her, his fingers gliding over her top until he found her nipples. He rubbed them until they hardened, and her heels writhed atop the furs as fresh, aching need stirred in her core.

“Are you ready to be stripped?” he whispered into her ear, nibbling and sucking at her lobe.

She replied with a sputtering groan as he pinched and flicked her nipples through the fabric. Every word she tried to form fell away, lost as he fondled her.

He laughed, his fangs flashing. “Was that a yes?”

She nodded, bracing against him.

His hands slipped to the lapels of her top, and with his mouth still on her ear, he looked out into the field. “They’re all going to see you now. They’re going to see you naked. And fucking.” 

Her eyes cracked open. Bodies lit gold by the firelight and silver by the moon, the men watched her, their eyes aglow and meals forgotten. Some began to neck, stirred by her lust to find their own satisfaction. But the others, young and hard, they stared only at her, licking their lips and eagerly waiting.

“It’s time for you to be stripped.”

And with a firm tug, he ripped her top open, exposing her soft breasts to the night. Hungry yips rippled through the pack and she whimpered, feeling their eyes on her. Calloused by swordplay and war, his hands groped her breasts, tugging at their pink tips and pleasantly abrading her skin. And her hands sought his thighs, squeezing the muscle that played under her fingers.

His nibbles turned rougher, eliciting stings of pain along her neck which he soothed away with his tongue.

“Which one would you like to have join us?” he asked with a shaky sigh filled with desire.

The idea of another mouth on her skin dragged a moan from her lips and her breath raced.

“Choose,” he whispered, nuzzling her hair.

Refocusing her attention, she pored over the faces watching them as Kouga’s hands and tongue explored her exposed body. They were all wild and handsome wearing only their hunger for her, their hands slowly stroking their cocks, stiff and proud. At least two looked identical, a pair of strapping twins. Then one with loose, shoulder-length, dark hair and emerald eyes stole her fancy. He grinned boyishly when her attention settled on him, affirming her decision.

“Green eyes,” she whispered, her head lolling against Kouga. “I want him.”

Chuckling, he nosed her cheek and planted a kiss. “Then he’s yours.”

He spied up and gave him a nod. Surrounded by the grumbling unchosen, Green-Eyes climbed to his feet and approached the furs, saliva trickling from the corner of his mouth.

“Since I’m enjoying your top half and its wonders,” Kouga explained into her ear as he seized her breasts again, kneading them with his hands, “Would you like him to attend to your bottom half? He’s thirsty and would like to drink from your well.”

The thought of it sent a shiver coursing down her spine, ending with fresh wetness dampening her folds.

“It’s time to be stripped the rest of the way now,” Kouga whispered wolfishly, his hand slipping down to undo the tie on her skirt. Achingly slow, he pulled on the end, loosening the knot until it unraveled. 

Another pulse of need tightened in her core, anticipation driving a whimper from her lips.

Then he grabbed the skirt’s hem and unfurled it from her body. The summer evening kissed her bare skin, its chill brighter along the thin strip of underwear where her dampness seeped through. She felt Kouga’s chest swell as he breathed in the tang of her sex perfuming the air, and then he exhaled a rumbling sigh. A soft cry burst from her as he seized her nipples, pinching them roughly, and he nipped at her shoulder, his fangs prickling, almost drawing blood.

Watching her, Green-Eyes knelt at her feet, bowing deep with reverence, and then he took her knees, parting them before he bent them towards her chest. Her body open and trembling, he settled onto his stomach, his face hovering over her mound. Warm puffs of breath seared her skin and she swallowed dryly, waiting for an eternity. Then his nose brushed against her, sliding up her slit.

She bucked.

And both men growled, their hands pinning her down.

Through the flimsy fabric, he explored her folds with his lips, feeling the shape of her and letting her flood his senses. Then he found her swollen clit and he paused to taste.

Mewling, she writhed against their grip, her feet flailing uselessly.

He swathed her with his tongue, slowly swirling it around her clit in tightening circles, drenching her underwear. And when he reached the sex, his mouth pressed against her, forming a seal, and gently, he began to suck.

A long groan poured from her and she pushed against him, demanding more. She could feel him chuckle in reply and his tongue flicked out, strumming her clit. Ecstasy surged through her sex and into her core, and his hands slid up her thighs to her hips where he found the tie securing her underwear in place. Just a strip of cloth, he undid the knot and loosened it until it fell away, revealing the dark curls of her mound glistening with her need.

He lingered there, nuzzling her curls. And then with a deep breath, he descended on her, ravaging her folds with his tongue.

A gasp sputtered from her as her breath seized in her chest, and she arched her back, her nails digging into Kouga’s thighs.

He growled in her ear, amused. But his tone took on a rasp when she slipped one hand behind her back, seeking his cock.

Hot to the touch, she found him, engorged and throbbing. Her fingers fluttered over velvety skin as she felt her way up his shaft towards the head. Sheathed in foreskin, she discovered the tip, beaded with fluid. 

“It’s your turn to be stripped,” she whispered huskily as she moistened her hand with precum and slid his foreskin down to reveal the sensitive head. Pinning his foreskin in place with one curled finger, she let the others gently squeeze his head while she stroked.

Closing his eyes, he groaned, his hips rocking in time with her rhythm.

Then her body jerked, a spasm of need tightening like a coil in her core. Green-Eyes had found her sex and plumbed it with his tongue before snaking back to her clit and nipping at it with his lips.

“Would you like to return his efforts?” Kouga asked throatily, his breaths turning into pants.

“What do you mean?” she asked, perspiration dappling her skin and sticking to her hair.

Leaning forward, he tapped Green-Eyes on the shoulder. He looked up, eyes ablaze and his face drenched with her essence. Kouga showed him his hand palm-up, and he nodded, understanding. His head still at the apex of her legs, he flipped onto his back and waited. Kouga’s hands slid down her body to her waist and lovingly, he picked her up, tipping her forward.

Gasping in delight, she grinned when he settled her onto Green-Eyes’ belly, her mound resting above his mouth and his thick cock standing at attention beside her face.

“Ever since the day I met you,” Kouga said, his hands gliding down her back, tenderly tracing the curve of her spine as he braced himself behind her, “I’ve hungered for this moment. Even when it was clear that you loved another, I still held out hope for at least a taste if not your heart.”

When he reached her ass, he grabbed her round cheeks, squeezing them roughly. And when she squeaked, he slid a hand underneath her, searching for her slick folds and sending her shuddering when he found them. He explored her with his fingers until he felt her clit. He rubbed it gently, her every moan causing his cock to jerk. Then he slid two fingers back and plunged them into her sex.

Her hips jumped.

And with one hand, he held her down as he thrust, reveling in her sucking heat.

After one last fuck, he pulled his fingers out, slippery with her wetness, and put them to his lips. Longingly, he inhaled her essence and then he slowly dragged his tongue along one finger, getting the taste he longed for.

“Are you ready to fuck?” he asked as he took the remaining wetness and stroked his cock, slicking it.

Yearning fluttered in her core and she nodded, a devious smirk on her lips. “Are you asking if I’m ready to fuck the great wolf prince with wild abandon in front of his drooling pack? If so, the answer is a hearty and impatient yes.”

Eyes sparkling, he laughed warmly.

Then he slipped his wet cock between her folds and plunged into her sex.

A throaty groan exploded from her and she shook with ever tightening need. His hips slapped against her ass as he thrust, enjoying her depths in their entirety. And when she adjusted to the ecstasy of his rhythm, Green-Eyes’ tongue returned.

Her core spasmed with unimaginable delight, and she cried out.

Alternating between sucking and thrumming, Green-Eyes’ played with her clit as one hand pinned her hips in place and the other palmed a breast, pinching a nipple between his fingers.

“How is there even room for both of you down there?” she asked between panting gasps.

Kouga chuckled, his skin glistening over rippling muscles. “He likes balls.”

She began to laugh when another pulse of need shuddered her body.

“Aren’t you going to return his efforts?” he asked, grunting. “He’s waiting for you.”

Her wild hair swaying around her shoulders, she turned to the hard cock warming her face. An unexpected nervousness churned in her belly. Inuyasha always refused to let her go down on him. At best, he’d sometimes let her stroke him, but even that was rare. Instead, he always focused on her needs, uncomfortable when she tried to attend to his body no matter how she offered.

She bit at the inside of her lip, unsure of what to do, and then her attention drifted out to the field. Desire brimming in their eyes, the pack watched her, the first course of their feast forgotten. Yet amid them, others paid her no mind, their lust and affection committed to each other. One man with silver streaking his hair knelt at the hips of another, and she smiled.

Lost in the searing bliss of her sex, Kouga closed his eyes, his hips pumping.

Then the sound of coughing laced with a dry heave brought him back. 

He blinked, his body slowing to a stop. And when he peered down at Kagome, he furrowed his brow in confusion.

With her mouth wrapped around Green-Eyes’ shaft, Kagome descended on his cock, swallowing down until her face was buried in curls of pubic hair. Breathing in deep through her nose, her cheeks puffed out as she blew.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

A gag bubbled up from her throat and she wrenched herself away, a long tendril of saliva oozing from her mouth. Gasping for air, she spied back at him, her face red and flustered. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m doing what those guys are doing over there.”

Frowning, he looked out into the pack, and then shook his head. “Whatever you’re doing is not what they’re doing. Believe me.”

“Hey!” she snapped, “I’m doing my best—”

Crossing his arms against his chest, he pumped her once, stealing her objection and transforming it into a breathy moan.

“Were you blowing on his dick?” he asked.

“Yes,” she replied defensively. “They’re called ‘blow jobs’, so I was blowing. Why would they call it that if it didn’t involve blowing?”

“Who calls it that?”

“The… The future.”

A roaring laugh burst from him and her face turned nuclear bright.

“Stop laughing!”

“Only someone who’s never given one would call it by that name,” he assured.

“Well, he’s not complaining,” she groused, nodding towards Green-Eyes.

“If someone had their teeth that close to my dick, I wouldn’t complain either.”

A growl rose in her throat, but before she could argue, he laid his body across her back, rocking his hips gently against her, soothing away her rage with doses of pleasure. Supporting himself with one hand, he reached for a breast with his other, fondling her as he nuzzled her neck.

“I’m about to do you and Dog-Face a favor that I won’t ever get the satisfaction of bragging about,” he sighed as he nipped her shoulder.

Breathless whimpers were her only answers.

“Despite what that dumb name suggests,” he explained, “It’s not about blowing. It’s about sucking. That’s what feels good. That and your tongue.”

She nodded, listening.

“And you don’t have to try and deep throat either.” He gestured towards the men in the field. “They’ve been doing this for years, so that makes a difference, but even so, it’s not comfortable for most. And I want you to be comfortable.”

“But I want to do a good job,” she whispered.

“You will,” he assured, nibbling on her ear lobe. After giving her breast one last squeeze, he let her go and seized Green-Eyes’ cock. Still slick with her saliva, he pulled down his foreskin, revealing the head. Then he began to stroke. “It’s like what you do with your hands. You’re just adding your mouth.”

“Okay,” she replied earnestly.

“I’ll stroke. You concentrate on sucking. Just form a seal and move up and down the shaft as far as what’s comfortable for you. And while you do that, lick him with your tongue. Around the tip and under the head feel the best.”

Gingerly, she leaned forward, and he angled the cock towards her mouth. Her lips wrapped around it and she tasted the saltiness of his precum on her tongue. Tentative at first, she started to suck, swathing her tongue over the tip. Beneath her body, she could feel him tense, stirred by need, and encouraging her. And so, little-by-little, she took in more of him as Kouga stroked in rhythm with her ministrations.

Urging her on, Green-Eyes suckled and toyed with her clit, his efforts turning rougher as his cock throbbed harder.

Her hand covered Kouga’s, and soon, he slipped away, letting her stroke on her own. Her tongue explored the delicate grooves and textures of his head and shaft, her attention rewarded by nipping lips and a strumming tongue. Brimming with need, she felt her core building towards release, and she whimpered.

“You’re doing a good job,” Kouga added as he planted a fond kiss on her cheek. “I’m a little jealous and I might ask for seconds.”

Then he sat back onto his haunches and ran his hands over her thighs and ass before giving her a firm swat.

Muffled rage poured from her.

But it evaporated the instant his hips smacked against her. In and out, he plumbed her sex, his muscles tensing and ponytail bouncing with every thrust. Slowly, his rhythm quickened, each pump driving a grunt from his lips, the walls of her sex tight around him. Below, her mewling grew louder, every fuck and lick eliciting a fresh burst of pleasure and pain, her core longing for release.

“I’m close,” Kouga admitted breathlessly, sweat streaming down his body and his hips a blur of motion.

She nodded fervently, panting as she stroked and sucked.

Then Green-Eyes’ hips bucked and his cock erupted with release, filling her mouth with his seed. The scent and taste of his cum pushed her to the edge. She gasped for breath, the tension in her core almost unbearable.

“Harder!” she cried out, tears in her eyes. “Fuck harder!”

Spurred on by her pleas, his hips pounded against her, their slaps echoing. Swiftly, his grunts turned into snarls and his eyes ignited with youki.

Her lungs seized in her chest.

His fangs flashed, his muscles as taut as springs.

Then the tension inside her snapped. With explosive force, it unwound and her core burst with release. Crying sobs shook her body as she convulsed with wave-upon-wave of pleasure, each one hitting harder than the last. 

His hands dug into her hips as she writhed, holding her still as he fucked her a final time. With a loud roar overflowing with ecstasy and relief, he came, her sex milking him of his seed.

Her arms wobbling, she collapsed against Green-Eyes’ stomach, her core jerking from the aftershocks. Then she felt Kouga’s warm weight on top of her as he covered her body, his spent arousal still twitching.

Yips and whoops of approval rippled through the pack.

She giggled, enjoying their brand of applause.

Letting out a satisfied sigh, Kouga nuzzled her neck with soft kisses. “Was that the type of adventure you were hoping for?”

She nodded.

“Is there anything else you would like tonight?”

She spied back at him, her eyes bright and her smile beaming, “Well, I’m pretty sure I saw a pair of twins out there.”

A chuckle shook him. “Then they’re yours.”


	10. A Reluctant Intermission

Chapter Ten: A Reluctant Intermission

With her back resting against a granite boulder, Sango reclined. Rolling her shoulders, she settled into a comfortable position, and when she was satisfied, she tucked her knees up until they peaked, making a lap. Beneath her, she enjoyed the comfort of a soft pelt, wriggling her toes in the plush fur.

And with a contented sigh, she gazed down at the calligraphy set beside her. Neatly arranged according to size, a row of brushes awaited her. She pored over them and chose one, plucking it up. The bristled tip hovered in the air and she neatly lowered it into a readied inkwell, its preparation a few minutes earlier proving to be the kind of distraction she needed when the real feast began. The black ink soaked into the bristles, plumping the brush up, and when it was full, she dragged it along the rim of the inkwell, leeching away the excess until she was pleased with the amount.

Next, she looked to the journal set beside the inkwell. She picked it up and rested it across her thighs, an impromptu easel. And when she opened the journal’s cover, she smirked.

In the impeccable script of a monk, it read: “ _Smut goes here_ ”

She looked at the brush in her hand, its tip trembling and she felt a twinge of shame. As a chieftain’s daughter, she had reluctantly learned to read and write, and though her handwriting wasn’t as terrible as it could be, she couldn’t help but mourn the fate of the crisp page before her.

Still, it was Miroku’s price, so she had to add something to it.

With a nod, she decided, and put brush to paper. Her tongue peeked out between her lips as she worked, her mind absorbed by the effort and only coming up for air when the brush rasped dry. When the page was filled, she blew on it gently, and realized then that her throat was parched.

And after she had gotten so comfortable.

She spied up from her journal.

Seated on their knees at almost kicking distance away, a row of young men watched her. When they noticed her attention, their faces perked up and they immediately prostrated themselves in a deferential bow.

She sighed.

“Is there anything the lady taijiya requires?” one asked, his head still bent. His hair was silver with a streak of black and she realized that she knew him. He was one of Kouga’s lieutenants who spent most of his time trying to keep up with the fleet-footed prince.

“Ginta, right?” she replied.

He exhaled giddily, pride swelling his chest, and he nodded his head.

“Could you find me some tea, please?”

He nodded again and climbed to his feet. Swiftly, he disappeared into the night, the flickering firelight catching only glimpses of him as he wove through the camp. And as quickly as he had gone, he returned, carrying an iron teapot and a teacup. She hadn’t paid much attention to him when their paths had crossed in the past, but here stripped and bare, she found herself appreciating the scenery. Years of chasing after Kouga had given him a strapping body worth ogling.

Reverently, he knelt before her and set the teacup down. Then he tipped the teapot, steam curling from its spout, and poured fresh green tea into the cup. When he was done, he set the pot down and held the brimming cup out for her to take.

“Thank you,” she said, accepting his offering. 

For a moment, their fingers touched, skin grazing skin, and a shiver ran through him.

“I hope you slay me for my impertinence,” he whispered.

“What?” she mumbled, caught off guard. “What did you say?”

Without reply, he slipped away, returning to his spot among the young men. Furrowing an eyebrow, she stared at him, and bashfully, he looked away, his cheeks flushing pink.

“Ginta, what did you say?”

He remained silent, avoiding her look.

She had heard him correctly, hadn’t she? He had brought her some tea and asked her to slay him for it. Or was it because he had grazed her? Since when did someone deserve death for being gracious? And touching her finger was hardly copping a feel, otherwise Miroku would have died a long time ago. She shook her head, baffled.

Water splashed behind her, jarring her from her bewilderment. His ponytail swinging behind him, she spotted Kouga settling down into the hot spring. The hazy vapor swirled around him as he scooped up handfuls of water and cleansed his skin.

“Done already?” she asked.

“Nah,” he scoffed as he gently scrubbed his groin. “It’s rude not to clean up between partners when you have the opportunity.”

“I hope these implied partners are the others and not including me,” she snorted and took a sip of her tea.

He laughed. “Well, you have your hopes and I have mine. But that’s all they are either way. Not promises. Or demands. Just dirty possibilities playing out in our imaginations.”

She smirked, but as she searched her mind for a clever retort, he glided through the pool to hug the boulder behind her. Still sweetened by saké, his breath steamed her neck as he leaned over her shoulder to spy down at her journal.

Another easy laugh burst from him. Rough and uninhibited, it warmed the atmosphere with its raw joy, and she couldn’t resist grinning with him.

“Accurate,” he said, his voice hitching on a few lingering chuckles.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” she replied, turning to a fresh page. 

With his hand propping up his cheek, he watched as she dipped her brush into the inkwell and added more to the journal. Soon her trembling hand steadied and her brushwork smoothed out, a childhood’s worth of practice returning to her. And between it and Kouga’s rapt interest, her confidence grew, leaving room for other thoughts. 

“So,” she said, cleansing her brush in a cup of clean water. “One of your packmates confused me earlier, and I still don’t understand what he meant.”

“Oh?”

She picked up a smaller brush with a finer tip and dipped it into the ink. “He brought me a much-appreciated cup of tea, and then asked me to slay him. I thought maybe I misheard what he said, but I don’t think I did. Why would he say that? He didn’t do anything wrong. In truth, he was incredibly polite and accommodating, so why he would hope that I’d kill him is—”

Stifled snorts interrupted her.

Annoyed, she looked over her shoulder at Kouga. His hand covered his mouth, masking his expression, but his amused eyes, glossy with tears, betrayed him.

“Are you laughing about this?” she said, astonished. “Ginta asked me to slay him for… for his impertinence, and your response is to laugh?”

“I’m trying not to,” he wheezed, still covering his mouth.

She growled at him.

A few more snorts rippled through him while he smothered his laughter, an effort he was clearly unaccustomed to doing. And when only his flashing grin was left, he reached over and rubbed her shoulder soothingly. 

“All right,” he said, “It’s clear that you don’t know your own reputation. At least not from the youkai perspective.”

“I suppose not,” she replied testily.

“Earlier today when I referred to you as the best taijiya in the land, I wasn’t exaggerating for the sake of flattering you. I was expressing a fact well-shared among youkaikind. Your family clan and your position as the chieftain’s daughter and future leader is common knowledge.”

She blinked. “All of youkaikind know that I was the chieftain’s daughter and in training to become the next leader of our clan?”

He shrugged. “Of course. It’s what a formidable enemy worthy of respect deserves.”

“But, I’m not your enemy. I haven’t been your enemy in years. Not since Naraku exploited my clan’s stronghold and wiped us all out. Except for my brother and I, no one else survived. What exists is nothing but ruins.”

“Is that what the next chieftain wants? For all that remains of her clan to be a memory?”

She looked away, her eyes downcast.

He nodded, and his gaze drifted to the field where his men writhed in the throes of merry debauchery. “I understand. You’ve lived through my worst fear. If my pack was destroyed, because I wasn’t strong enough. Or fast enough. And in the aftermath, I became the wolf prince of no one, then I’d consider abandoning it all, too.”

“Just leave the past dead and buried,” she whispered.

“But, if that was satisfactory for your honorable clan’s final chapter, why are you here?”

Her eyes snapped to him.

He met her stare, his face golden in the firelight and his irises tinted to a glittering, bright aqua. He was close, leaning towards her from over the boulder, and drips of water fell from his drenched hair and onto her top, speckling it.

She swallowed.

“Why are you here?” he asked again, his fang clipping his lip as he smirked.

“I’m here to protect Kagome,” she assured firmly, yet surprised by an unexpected waver threading her voice.

His smirk broadened.

“It’s true,” she insisted. “It’s dangerous for a young woman to travel alone in this region, especially for someone like Kagome who didn’t grow up here and has always had the protection of her friends at her side.”

“And that’s the only reason?”

“It’s not like that—"

“Because if it is,” he interrupted warmly, “Then why do you have the same freedom to explore as she does? What is it that you’re looking for?”

She opened her mouth, ready to argue, but no words came out.

Effortlessly cocky, he reached down and plucked the brush from her hand and started to add to her journal while he waited.

She blew out a breath and folded her arms against her chest as she watched him fill the page. “You’re much more perceptive than I’ve given you credit for in the past. I just thought you were really good at running.”

“You wouldn’t be the first person to underestimate me,” he noted, his mouth parted in concentration. “And if it needs to be said, compliments won’t get you out of answering the question.”

“It was worth a try.”

He grinned and dipped the brush back into the ink, soaking up the last of it. “So, what are you looking for?”

She breathed in deep through her nose and let out a tired sigh. “I don’t know. I didn’t realize that I was unhappy until we started this journey. It’s sad. Everyone saw it but me, and some small part of me wishes they hadn’t so I could have kept going on in ignorance. Sometimes being in a rut feels safer than taking a risk with change.” 

He nodded, putting the brush to paper again.

“But still, I’m happy that I’m here. It’s like Kagome said, it’s both new and familiar at the same time. Everything reminds me of the past I buried. Even my taijiya skills are returning, taking me back to who I was before I committed to motherhood. Before I settled for a tiny cottage in a nameless village and decided that was good enough.”

He dipped the brush into the water cup, swirling it until it was clean. Then he set it neatly beside the other brushes. The warmth of his skin heated the air between them as he inched closer to the journal and blew on the page. His breath flowed over her in a wave, tickling her skin and turning it to gooseflesh.

Pleased, he turned and smiled at her. “Everyone has seen your sadness, yet they haven't seen why it’s there. But as a prince and future leader myself, I can tell you what I see. Would you like me to share it with you?”

Expecting another objection to catch in her throat, she surprised herself when she nodded instead.

He sighed tenderly. “I see an alpha mother who could never be satisfied with just guarding her den. She misses her pack. She misses the hunt. And the hunt misses her.”

“That’s not who I am anymore. I have a husband and a home. Children to look after.”

He scoffed. “You’ve never realized it, have you?”

She shook her head. “I don’t—"

“When that bastard Naraku was finally put down, you’re the one who came out stronger, not your husband. The weapon in his hand vanished like every creature and object that passed through it. It’s what made him truly formidable, and it’s pathetic that all he has left is a jangly staff and flimsy pieces of paper.”

Her expression hardened and anger tightened in her chest.

“It’s true and you know it, and I’m sure he knows it, too. How weak he is now. How he’s at the mercy of all those monsters out there, youkai and otherwise.”

“That’s enough,” she bristled.

“But you know who isn’t weak?” he continued, unruffled and confident. “You.”

“I’m as human as he is.”

“No, you’re not,” he disputed, and he glanced towards Hiraikotsu resting in the grass, an arm’s length away from her. “We can feel it. The pact you made with the youkai spirits residing in your weapon. Your soul and theirs are intertwined like the Shikon-No-Tama, but instead of being at war with one another, they fight alongside you, and together, you share a purity of purpose that can never be soiled.”

She swallowed.

“So that when you throw this weapon, your enemies are torn asunder, broken by the strength you’ve gained and the sacrifices you’ve made. You’ve taken something legendary and added to it, empowering it further. And when you’re done with it, only gods will be able to wield Hiraikotsu.”

Her eyes stung with impending tears.

“And then there are the tools of the taijiya trade. The poisons. The traps. The dedicated preparation and the endless resourcefulness. What a terrifying yet captivating chieftain you’ve become. The mother who is also the hunter. The warrior queen of her clan.”

Emotion etched her face and her skin felt flush and hot, made worse by the closeness of his body, glistening wet in the flickering light.

“That’s why Ginta asked you to slay him,” he said as he leaned towards her, his nose brushing gently against hers. “He wants to feel your power envelop him and be dominated by it. He wants to be fucked into submission by it.”

Every word reverberated through her, and a pang of need echoed back from her core, tugging at her and demanding to be satisfied.

“We all want to feel it,” he whispered, his lips tantalizingly close. “We all want to be fucked by it.”

“Slay us,” the young men pled in near unison.

Then something inside her snapped.

Reaching up, she took him by the jaw and pulled him close until her lips crushed against his. Raw and rough, their mouths moved together in a ravenous kiss. She tore at his lip, savoring his flavor, both salty and sweet with a slight coppery tang when she nipped and bit. Then her tongue flicked into his mouth, overwhelming him with her need. She probed and tasted, her hunger devouring him, and his tongue joined hers, bowing before her as she ravaged what she conquered.

Finally, it was the trifling need for air that drove her to retreat. She wrenched away from him, her mouth wet and ruddy, and her heart thundered in her chest.

For a moment, his mouth moved uselessly, and then he choked out a raspy breath. “Oh, I need to be slain.”


	11. A Tangy Dessert

Chapter Eleven: A Tangy Dessert

Sango sighed, then reached up and ruffled Kouga’s bangs. “I can’t.”

He blinked, honest confusion tilting his head. “You can’t… what?”

“I can’t do this,” she said, and longingly, she traced the lean muscles of his arm and chest until her fingertips grazed the boulder over which he leaned. “As much as I want to try this right now, and I do, I still have a job and that’s to make sure Kagome is safe throughout our journey. I can’t protect her if I’m distracted by… unbridled participation.”

“Ah,” he hummed, and smiled with warm reassurance. “I wouldn’t worry about Kagome tonight. She’ll be fine.”

“Um, no,” she objected, her brow furrowing. “She’s one woman in what’s become a lupine orgy. She needs someone looking out for her in case things get out of hand.”

“She’ll be fine. Trust me.”

She shook her head. “I can’t. Not on this.”

He opened his mouth as if to reply when a high-pitched squeal pierced the air and accompanied by a chorus of yips.

Her journal falling from her lap in a flurry of paper, she lunged for Hiraikotsu, grabbing it by its tasseled handle. But as she pivoted into fierce crouch, ready to leap towards danger, the squeal transformed into delighted laughter.

Skin golden in the firelight, a young man appeared, tall and sinewy, and straddling his hips was Kagome. Her hair tousled, she hung off his body, languid from pleasure as he thrust into her at a steady rhythm, her ass and thighs slapping against him. His mirror image, another man followed him, running interference as others chased after them hungrily, their cocks hard and needy.

“It’s not fair!” one of the pursuers groused. “You both have satisfied the great priestess! Maybe she’d like to choose some of us next!”

The twins chuckled, making no move to surrender, and instead they closed ranks, swathing Kagome in kisses and nips, making her groan.

“Hey!” Kouga shouted, pointing at them all. “Only two at a time unless she requests otherwise! The rest of you need to be patient. Go eat some boar and maybe she’ll ask for you next.”

Spotted by the prince, the men scattered, melting into the night, the hearths only catching glimpses of them. Somewhere, Kagome squealed again, and a cacophony of boisterous yips followed.

“Hey!” Kouga repeated, yelling at the darkness. “Did you hear what I said?!”

Carefree laughter was their answer, and he blew out a breath in frustration.

Sango gave him a dry look.

Sensing her doubt, he shrugged and smiled toothily. “She’ll be fine.”

“None of what just happened inspires confidence,” she said coolly, and she adjusted her grip on Hiraikotsu. “This is exactly why I need to be alert. Something bad is going to happen this evening and I have to be ready for it.”

“Ready for when she cries out that safe word and you rescue her?”

Her mouth parted in surprise. “You were listening to us?”

He tapped an elfin ear, a credit to his canine hearing. “I think I’ve already proven to be more than capable of listening, haven’t I?”

She frowned thoughtfully. “I suppose so.”

“So, if you’d like, extend me that measure of trust, and look out into the camp.”

She snorted. “At all the people eating, drinking, and having sex?”

“No,” he laughed, and in a swirl of steaming water, he moved through the pool to sit behind her again. He raised his hand, pointing over her shoulder towards the revelry. “Look beyond them to what else is there.”

Skeptically, she raised an eyebrow, but he was right. He had earned her consideration, so she followed the line of sight he had created. As she expected, the camp writhed with passion and lust, the men gorging on pleasure in all its carnal manifestations. Yet peppered between them, there were others. Brindled gray and white, large wolves laid at attention, unwavering sentries with eyes glowing gold.

“The wolfie-wolves?” she asked, mentally ruing the silly name Kagome had given them.

“Yeah,” he replied, “I know Kagome requested that I ban any participation on their part, but there was one matter they could assist with, and that was protecting both of you.”

“Protecting us?”

“You’re not wrong to be concerned,” he assured with a tired sigh. “Sometimes people struggle to retain control when appetites are whetted and needs are running high. And though my men are attentive and well-meaning, I don’t want either of you to experience one moment of regret for being here. So, I’ve commanded the wolves to be your guardians, and if they sense a shred of fear or unresponsiveness coming from you or Kagome, they will savage the culprit and keep you safe. Even if it’s me they’re protecting you from.”

She blinked, surprised.

“I take it very seriously.”

She nodded. “I can see that.”

“So, with that understanding,” he said, curling a lock of her hair around his finger, “Are you willing to extend me that trust a little further and believe that Kagome’s safety is well-handled?” He licked his lips, moistening them. “That she doesn’t need your full attention at every moment? That you can indulge in what you want, too?” 

Her chest tightened as if she were at the edge of a precipice. Beneath her, a welcoming pool of water awaited, deep and refreshing on a hot, summer’s day. She only needed to jump.

Beaded water trickled down his golden skin, tracing the lines of his muscles, and he whispered wolfishly, “Because if you are ready to take what you want, alpha mother and future chieftain, then I’m ready to be slain.”

With her heart racing, she felt herself vaulting forward, taking the leap. 

And she wouldn’t turn back.

She hit the hot spring with a loud splash, and it seared her skin, as pleasant on a warm night as the pool she imagined. Her drenched clothes billowed through the water, swirling around her as she crushed against Kouga. He welcomed her, his body open to her hunger and she began to devour him with open-mouth kisses. She tore at his lips and jaw, leaving a ruddy trail as she sucked and bit, tasting the minerals on his skin.

He groaned, pressing against her, matching her greed with softer kisses and nips, and he ran his hands over her hips and waist, her sopping clothes clinging tight. Then his back arched, her nails digging in, raking him red. 

She tangled a hand in his ponytail and pulled down, wrenching his head backward, and he gasped as she forced him to bare his throat. Devilishly, she smirked and set upon him, sucking on his delicate skin and leaving dark bruising as she snaked her way down the grooves of his throat.

His fingers fumbled at her clothes, the ties of her skirt swollen by the water. Growling in frustration, he ripped the knots apart and her skirt and undergarments drifted away on the currents made by their bobbing and splashing. Freed now, her top parted, revealing the enticing curves of her breasts. His hands glided up her lapels, pausing to thumb her hardened nipples peaking underneath the fabric. 

“Stop teasing and do it,” she said coolly, and she let his ponytail slide free through her fingers.

“And I always thought I was the one always in a hurry,” he chuckled darkly, tugging at her nipples over her top. 

“Do it,” she ordered.

She could fill his lust surge through his groin at her command, and he grabbed her top, stripping it from her shoulders. He tossed it away and drank in the sight of her, a paradox of softness and steel.

On their knees, her worshippers yipped hungrily, stroking themselves.

His hands sliding down to her sides, Kouga swept her up and set her on the boulder. Regal and poised, she sat with her legs dangling in the pool, her long hair clinging to her fair skin, drawing dark, intricate designs across her back and hips. She towered over him as he wrapped an arm around her waist, caressing her gently as his mouth descended on her breast.

His lips brushed against her skin, nuzzling her, and puffs of his warm breath turned her nipples into tight nubs, and her core tingled with need. He flicked his tongue and dragged across her flesh, setting it afire. In a slow, inward spiral, he traced her voluptuous breast, until at last, he captured her nipple. 

She groaned, pressing against him as sucked and flicked her. His free hand joined in, fondling her other breast, pinching her nipple between his fingers. With her fingers stroking his earlobes, she writhed under his playful ministrations, her clit ignited and throbbing.

“Get out,” she demanded breathily.

His eyes aqua blue under the firelight, he spied up at her, his face buried in her chest. With one last hard suck, he released her. “You want me to go?”

“No, I want you to get out,” she said, and she longingly traced his lip with her finger. “If I’m the alpha mother, I need a better throne than this to sit upon, don’t you think?”

His expression turned quizzical, then brightened, and he grinned lasciviously. “Absolutely.”

In a spray of water, he leapt out of the spring and onto the grass. Finding a soft patch, he laid down and rocked his head from side-to-side until he was comfortable. Then he gazed down his robust chest at her and beckoned. “Your throne is ready, chieftain.”

She smiled, emboldened by the title, and slid off the boulder. Dripping wet and barefoot, she strode after him, her shoulders back and head held high. A predatory sway rocked her hips and old war wounds tattooed her skin. Her worshippers whined as she approached, and once she passed them, they lapped up the water she had shed.

With his arousal swollen and erect, Kouga awaited her, biting at his lip as he slowly stroked himself. A foot on either side, she walked up the length of his body and then sank to straddle his abdomen. The wetness moistening her sex felt cool against the heat of his skin, and she could feel his desire surge as he inhaled the scent of her. His hands slid up her smooth thighs, tracing their way to her waist where they lingered over rough, claw-shaped lines striping her belly.

A twinge of embarrassment prickled her neck and flushed her cheeks. She’d forgotten about her stretchmarks.

But the warmth of his smile evaporated her fear, and he caressed them reverently. “Battle scars befitting of an alpha mother.”

“Ooh,” she sighed, shaking her head, “If I wasn’t going to fuck you before, I’m definitely going to do it now.”

His smile grew into a grin, and he slapped her high on the ass as he pulled her towards his face and his wagging tongue. “Are you ready to sit on the throne?”

A clever retort perched on her lips, but before she could speak it, she heard her worshippers yipping. Looking over her shoulder, she spied back at them and smirked at their eagerness manifesting as engorged cocks desperate for relief. And as she watched them squirm under her gaze, a wicked idea tickled her. She smirked slyly, letting it ruminate in her mind, its promised fun growing exponentially.

“What is it?” Kouga asked, massaging her legs.

She turned back to him, her eyes sparkling. “Would you like to play a game?”

“A game?” he said, raising his eyebrows. “Like a sexy game?”

“Yeah,” she replied, then gestured back at the line of young men, “But we need two more players.”

He peered down at them, then shrugged. “If you want them, then they’re yours.”

“Good.”

Twisting to the side, she regarded her worshippers, poring over each of them until she discovered silver-haired Ginta. His chest swelled when he caught her look, and with one delicate finger, she called for him. Giddy with excitement, he stumbled to his feet and raced over to her side.

But it was only half the pair.

Again, she examined each of the men, their robust bodies rippling with muscle and their eyes aglow with need. Flashing white, she spotted a mohawk, and she knew then that she’d found him.

“Hakkaku,” she called out firmly with her beckoning finger. “Come here.”

Startled by the sound of his name, the young man froze, his eyes wide.

“Come here now.”

Jarred from his shock, he sprang up and hustled over, joining her other side.

“So, what’s this game?” Kouga asked with a mischievous grin, his hands fondly groping her breasts.

“It’s fairly simple,” she cooed, reveling in the fresh pulse of need tightening in her core. “Something you’re familiar with. It’s a race.”

“Oh,” he said, his face brightening with his easy confidence. “In that case, it sounds like I’ve already won.”

“I wouldn’t say that just yet.”

With each hand, she seized a cock.

Gasps erupted from Ginta and Hakkaku, their hips pitching towards her as she held them firm. 

“You see, I’m going to suck these two off,” she explained coolly, her lips dangerously close to the head of one throbbing cock. “And I’m not going to stop until you make me come.”

He laughed joyously, his eyes sparkling as he regarded her resolve. Then his hands fell to her ass and he dragged her towards his mouth. “Let’s count how many times I get you off before you make them come once.”

“Really?” she said, raising an eyebrow. “And I thought after all this time, you knew who my husband was?”

His smile sobering, he tilted his head. “What do you mean? He’s that monk, right?”

Now it was her turn to laugh. “I’m not Kagome, and it would bring him immeasurable shame if I did anything less than what I’m about to do.”

Nervously, Ginta and Hakkaku eyed each other, unsure of the fate they had eagerly accepted only to realize they were simply game pieces on their prince’s shogi board. But before any further misgivings could soften them with doubt, her mouth wrapped around a cock.

Sucking hard, she lifted Ginta onto his tiptoes. A hearty groan escaped him as she swallowed him down to his silvery pubic hair, her tongue swirling as she went.

“Oh, shit…” Kouga mumbled, and his customary bravado turned serious. The race was on. He bounced her onto his face, her dark mound brushing against his nose, filling him with the heady scent of her sex. Gently, he nuzzled her, feeling the shape of her folds with his lips.

She moaned, rubbing against him, the muscles in her thighs flexing.

Then his tongue flicked out.

She bucked.

And with one hand, he held her down, pressing her against his mouth as he probed her deeper, searching for her swollen clit. A hard nub, he found it and strummed it with his tongue.

Her throat rumbled with pleasure, and her wet mouth dragged another groan from Ginta’s parted lips. With a finishing whirl of her tongue, she withdrew from his glistening cock, leaving it hard and throbbing.

She looked up at him and demanded. “When I’m not sucking on you, stroke yourself.”

He nodded, and his hand fell to his shaft and he did as she ordered.

Hakkaku could only watch as she pulled him in, kissing the head of his cock, tasting the saltiness of his precum on her lips. Then she swallowed him, too, her expert tongue seeking every sensitive spot and swathing it with carnal delight.

Back and forth, she switched between them, sucking in rhythm as she ground against Kouga’s hot mouth. With his lips, he nipped her clit, pinning it as his tongue beat it with a flurry of flicks before snaking down to fuck her sex. His hands glided up her gleaming body and fondled her breasts. Her back arched as he tweaked and tugged at her nipples, sending fresh bursts of need tightening in her core.

Sweat slicked Ginta’s strapping chest and abdomen, beading along the curves of his chiseled muscles. As she sucked on him, she could feel him bracing, his body teetering at the edge of release, and that wouldn’t do. 

Now what had that nice, old woman said? 

With her hand still anchored around the base of his shaft, she pressed her thumb upward, pinching him in a vice.

He sputtered, his eyes wide as his climax slipped just out of reach.

Brashly, she dragged her tongue up the length of his cock and kissed its tip, feeling it bounce against her mouth, pleading for relief. Then she stared up at him and smirked. “Keep stroking yourself.”

“Kouga,” he whimpered through a clenched jaw, prickling pain and pleasure melding together as his hand glided up and down his shaft. “Make her come, please. I can’t…”

She turned to Hakkaku next, pinching him in the same manner. He stiffened, his heels lifting off the ground as though he were standing on a bed of nails, and she began to bathe his cock with her tongue.

“If you don’t start fucking me soon,” she warned Kouga, her voice muffled by her ministrations. “Then these two will never come.”

Fear, rarely seen, ghosted across his face half buried in her mound. His hand scrambled for his cock, hardening it with a few strokes, and he gave her clit one last firm suck.

She purred, awash with the pleasure pulsing through her, and then gasped when he pitched her hips up and planted her onto his cock. It slid easily between her slick folds and into her sex, ripping throaty moans from her as he began to thrust. Finding a rhythm, she rocked with him, the tension inside her mounting.

Their bodies rigid and trembling, Ginta and Hakkaku ground their teeth, every lick and suck both hellish and divine.

“Kouga…” Hakkaku gasped, as she devoured him with kisses. “Please, fuck faster.”

Ginta nodded in agreement, choking on saliva. “Kouga, go faster, please. It’s too much.”

Drenched in perspiration, Kouga growled back at them. “If I go faster, I’ll come before her, and then what will you do?”

“Kouga…” they whined in unison, undeterred.

She chuckled, her eyes closed and mouth agape with delight. “They spend their whole lives begging you to slow down, and now they want you to go faster.”

He expelled a breathy laugh, his hip pounding against her. “The irony.”

“Well,” she panted, the pleasure coiling inside her core reaching its peak. “Ready to win the game and give them what they want?”

A cocky grin grew on his lips, and in reply, he grabbed her hips and bounced her against his, pumping her deep and long. Moans punctuated her every breath, coming faster with every fuck, the tightness in her belly nearly unbearable.

And then it snapped, unwinding with explosive force.

Her body convulsed as waves of shuddering delight overtook her. Her pinching thumbs released her prey as she grabbed onto Kouga’s shoulders to steady herself. 

The pressure gone, Ginta and Hakkaku groaned, their relief echoing against the nearby ridge. Seed spilled from their throbbing cocks, and they collapsed onto their knees, their strength robbed by the rolling pleasure seizing their bodies.

With a final thrust, Kouga joined them, her spasming sex milking him of his seed. He pumped her a few more time, drawing out his satisfaction until his hands fell to his sides, his body spent.

“Fuck…” he mumbled, still out of breath.

Stretching from side-to-side, Sango surveyed the fallen men around her and nodded proudly. “Houshi-sama would expect nothing less.”


End file.
